Her Sequel Continues
by HabsGirl31
Summary: Sequel to Her Sequel to Life. Everlie is dead set on having a baby, and she might already be having one. Too bad Paul has made it clear he's not ready to be a dad and never will be. How will she be able to change his mind? Or will she? Paul/OC
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys :) Here's the first chapter. I hope ya like it.

Chapter 1

A lot has happened in the past five years. But to be honest, since that December twenty-third all those years ago, nothings really changed. Everyone is still the same; we're just older.

Paul and I are married and we have been for the past two years – much to my father's dismay. We live in a small two bedroom house near Emily's and Kim's houses. Who, as I'm sure you guessed, are married to Sam and Jared respectively.

The whole back still lives in La Push except for Leah who left a few years back for college. And hasn't come back since. Most of the wolves have imprints; every one except Brady but he's still young. Pack wise, most things are still the same. Every wolf has his patrol schedule and thankfully Jacob has opened up a car garage so everyone is employed.

Sam and Emily have a little boy named Wyatt; he's adorable and two years old.

I don't go to the gym anymore making Dr. Cullen's research a slight waste of time. But I did for a couple years after with Kim. We mostly just fooled around;however, it was definitely fun.

Anyway, after we graduated, Kim and I both went to the university in Port Angelos. Commuting from our houses to the school obviously. I stayed with my parents and Kim moved in with Jared as soon as school started. Paul begged me to move in with him constantly but I always refused. Looking back, I kind of wished I hadn't. In school, she took business and now works at a bank in Forks while I studied Education – finishing in four years instead of five.

On the Christmas of my sophomore year, Paul proposed. Clearly, I said yes since we are married now... I moved in with him before school started back up again – again, much to my father's dismay – and that summer we got married.

It's been two years since our wedding; well, it will be tomorrow at least. It's June and in a few months, I'll be teaching math at Forks High School. It's safe to say I'm really excited. And nervous.

"Hey, Ev, I'm home," Paul calls, walking in the front door. His shirt and cutoffs are slathered in grease from working. He walks over to give me a kiss, smirking when I bat him away.

Gosh, is it pathetic that after five years I still get caught breathless at that smirk?

"What?" he asks innocently, feigning hurt.

Rolling my eyes, I turn back to the fridge to grab a drink. "Get a shower, then maybe you'll get something."

I hear him chuckle as he retreats for the bathroom. "It better be a nice something!"

"Maybe!" I call back, giggling. When I reach up into the cupboard to grab a glass, a small blue package falls onto the counter. I gulp, picking it up. Instantly I start fidgeting and can't make myself put it back on the shelf. I slide it open, just to see what I've already looked at a million times in the past two weeks.

Birth Control Pills.

Normally, a comforting thing. Protection. Not when a single pill sat alone. You see a few weeks ago, I noticed that I forgot to take a pill one day. Whatever, no big deal. Then I didn't start my period which began to worry me. I'd never been late, even when I forgot pills. And I still haven't started.

Since then, I've been too much of a chicken to confirm my suspicions. Too much of a chicken to even tell Paul that I suspected it's a possibility. So I stopped taking them in case I am. That's supposed to harm a baby right? And now make Paul wear condoms. He doesn't like them and complains about if I'm on the pill that he shouldn't need to wear them.

I always lie and say I like the feeling of them and he gives in. But he's not stupid and I know he'll catch on eventually. Especially if I am and start getting bigger.

Personally, I don't have a problem with being pregnant if I am. I want a baby, more than I ever have. But Paul, for some reason I cannot figure out, doesn't. He's great with Wyatt and he was great with Paige and Claire when they were babies. Yet he still comes up with a lame excuse every time I bring it up.

You're still in school. You just graduated. You're just going to start a new job. Let's be married for awhile before we have kids. We don't have the money. Our house it too small. You know it'll hurt a lot, right?

His reasons keep getting stupider over time and I know if I keep persisting he will give in. But at this rate, that won't be for another year or two. I might not have that time anymore.

Warm arms wrap around my shoulders, making me jump and scream. I slam the pills shut, resting my head back on his bare chest. Just boxers... Very subtle Paul. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he murmurs, kissing my hair softly. "You forget to take your pill or something?"

I shrug. "I, uh, guess so."

He spins me around and pecks me on the lips. "Did you do that just so I'd have to use those condoms you like so much?" The smirk on his face tells me he never believed that lie. Which makes me gulp.

I force a smile anyway. "Maybe. Now put some clothes on, we're supposed to go to Emily and Sam's."

He pouts instantly and I try to occupy myself by pouring my drink. "But I thought I was going to get a present."

I snort. "You will." I sip some juice from the cup. Instantly, it makes me feel sick. Great. "Tomorrow night."

He groans, stealing my drink from me.

"Hey!" I object but trying to get it from him is completely pointless. He's over a foot taller than me and he's purposefully holding it out of my reach. "You're a horrible imprint."

"You're the one that won't have sex with me," he teases.

I roll my eyes. "We had sex, like, last night."

"It was the night before actually," he states, smiling. Then he holds the glass to my lips, making me feel even more sick. "Now drink up if you want to go."

I do and then chase him away so he won't see the sick look on my face. When he comes back in a pair of cutoffs, we grab our shoes and walk out the door of the house. Their house is literally about half a block away. Paul takes my hand in his, swinging them back and forth as we stroll down the street.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" I ask casually.

Rolling his eyes, he laughs. "Sorry Evie, but asking more won't make me tell you. It's a secret."

"But I don't like secrets," I whine. "They're mean."

He pulls me closer, kissing my cheek. "Five years later and you're still immature," he jokes.

I shove him playfully and skip away. "And you're still an asshole," I call back. He chases after me and catches up quickly. When he reaches me, he pulls me into his arms and spins me around.

"What's that?" he asks, grinning and still spinning.

"It's... called character...ization. Now. Put. Me... Down," I gasp in between hysterical laughs. He does, and I tumble over instantly. Paul grabs me before I hit the ground. "You just proved my point."

We turn up Emily's driveway and Paul informs me, "Well, I had to. I can't have you finding out you aren't always right."

"That won't happen," I giggle. "I'm always right."

We walk in and are instantly greeted by a smiling two year old. Wyatt jumps straight at Paul who instantly slings him on his hip and starts teasing the toddler before walking into the kitchen. I smile at the picture, my hand subconsciously finding it's way to my stomach. Quickly, I drop it to my side and enter the kitchen.

No one seems to notice that there's something wrong. Even though there technically isn't; I guess I'm just acting weird. "Hey guys," I greet, taking a seat beside Paul who's still playing with Wyatt. The whole pack isn't here. Although I guess that isn't strange since most of them are either on patrol or working. Kim, Jared, Embry, his imprint Jillian and Brady are here, though. They return the greeting.

"Hey Paul, when's yours coming?" Sam asks, grinning as he gestures to Wyatt.

Paul scoffs, rolling his eyes. "It's not. Ever."

Instantly, I frown and avert my gaze to the floor. I feel Kim squeeze my leg gently under the table. I catch her shooting me a sympathetic smile out of the corner of my eye but I ignore it. I just want to go home and cry. How could he say that?

Not too long after that, Emily plucks Wyatt out of Paul's arms to feed him. I'm sure everyone notices me staring at the ground but no one says anything which I'm thankful for. "So what are you guys doing tomorrow?" Kim questions, eagerly trying to change the subject. Thank god for Kim.

I shrug, smiling again. "He won't tell me." Then I look pointedly at Jared, Embry, and Brady. "But you guys must know. Tell me!"

"Tell her, and you'll all be dead," Paul warns, draping his arms over my chair. Subconsciously, I lean closer to Paul. He pulls me tighter, a smile playing on his lips.

_Baby hater,_ I think angrily although I smile up at him anyway. The only thing that really bothers me about him not wanting a kid – besides the fact that we might be having one – is that he loves kids. So I have no idea why he doesn't want one... "I don't mind. I can deal with you guys dead," I joke.

They laugh but their imprints glare at me. Kim smacks the back of my head; Paul's about to growl at her but he catches himself. I laugh it off and smile at Kim. "Oh, c'mon Kimmy, I know you'd want Paul dead sometimes."

She snorts. "You caught me."

We stay for dinner which is obviously amazing and for a little while afterward before we say good night and leave. Paul's off patrol tonight and since tomorrow's our anniversary and I don't want to ruin it, tonight's my closest chance to bring up the kid thing.

It's not that late when we get home so I suggest we watch a movie. If the talk ends in a fight, I want to be already in bed so no one walks away. I hate those kinds of fights – not that they happen that often and when they do, it's usually me storming away or Paul being too pissed to control himself and having to leave. He chooses the movie but he picks She's The Man. Someone is trying to suck up. He finds the movie funny but we have other movies he'd much rather watch than this one and it's one of my favourites so... I hope he doesn't know something's up.

"I think you just wanted to watch this 'cause Amanda Bynes is in it. You think she's hot," I tease, cuddling into his chest.

He chuckles, nuzzling my hair. "Nah, you're the only girl I think is hot." I roll my eyes, and he kisses me. "And sexy." He flips me around so I'm lying on the couch and he's over top of me and then deepens the kiss. "And adorable." He runs his hands along the sides of my waist making me giggle into the kiss.

Eventually his hands tug at the bottom of my top and I sigh. One thing I don't think will ever change about Paul, is how horny he is. It used to make me uncomfortable, then when we started doing things, it was funny how much he'd want me randomly and then when we moved in together, it was just plain tiring.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's amazing but it's a lot of work and he never wants to stop. Ever.

"Why don't we go upstairs?" he whispers in my ear.

I shake my head, pulling back from the kiss. "Why don't we finish the movie?"

He pouts, sitting up and pulling me onto his lap. "But upstairs will be more fun."

I sigh again, resting my head on his chest. "Not tonight."

"Yeah, fine." He's not happy about it but he doesn't seem to hold any grudges for the rest of the night. Cuddling me and kissing me randomly throughout the movie. I giggle and kiss him back sometimes. When it's finally time to go to bed, I'm more nervous than thankful.

"Paul?"

He looks up from slipping off his shorts. "Yeah, babe?"

"Do... do you ever think about us having kids?" I ask nervously, almost hopefully.

He resists the urge to roll his eyes, and continues taking off his pants and then slipping into bed. "Didn't you hear me at Sam's?"

I undress and slip one of his old t-shirts on. It falls almost to my knees... Then climb under the covers next to him. "Yeah," I answer hesitantly, not liking how this is going, "but I thought maybe you were just joking. Or saying that because the guys were there."

"Well, you were wrong," he responds bluntly, making me flinch. "I don't want kids, Everlie."

I feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes. "You mean right now, right?" I whisper. I can handle that. But _never_? Something must be wrong...

"_Don't _start Everlie," he hisses in frustration. "Not tonight."

"Why?" I yell angrily.

He doesn't answer; he just stares at me without emotion. Like he wants to tell me something but just won't.

I glare at him, snapping the lamp off. It almost crashes to the floor but ends up staying on the bedside table. "Good night Paul," I seethe. Despite it being childish, I scoot over to the edge of the bed furthest from him.

I hear him sigh in that stupid way he does it when he thinks I'm the one being unreasonable. Maybe I am but I need to be. I need him to want to have a baby. Really soon.

I begin to cry, then sob and I just can't control myself. "Evie," he whispers, pulling me into him. "Don't cry baby."

I don't bother pushing him away because even though he's the one who's making me upset, I still feel the need for him to comfort me. Ever since he imprinted on me, no one else's comforting really works. Not like Paul's does.

"I'm sorry," I swear I hear him whisper later that night after my sobbing subsides. When I look back at him though, he looks to be asleep. Maybe I'm just hearing what I want to hear.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm not usually going to update this quickly but I got _a lot_ of reviews so i though you guys deserved it :)**

Chapter 2

Something tickles my nose, waking me up. I moan and roll away. "Go away, it's too early!" But really it can't be because the sun is beaming through the window. Not caring, I pull the covers over my head.

Paul chuckles, climbing in beside me. "I don't think so," he teases, "it's almost twelve o'clock."

"What!" I exclaim, sitting up too quickly and instantly feeling light-headed. I never sleep in. What is up with this. Then I push the covers away to see Paul sitting on the side of the bed, tray of food in hand. A smile creeps onto my face as I raise an eyebrow at him.

"I made you breakfast," he says sheepishly. Then his smile transforms into a smirk. "Not that it's warm anymore because you slept in and all."

I lean over and peck him on the lips. "Thank you so much. Happy anniversary, baby."

He sets the tray on the bedside and pulls me onto his lap. "Happy anniversary, sweetheart." His hands absentmindedly start playing with my hair. "Are you feeling all right?" he asks in concern.

I smile up at him. "Of course, why do you ask?"

He shrugs, pulling the food – which I now realize is eggs, bacon, pancakes and toast. He really went all out. "You never sleep in."

I chuckle, popping a piece of bacon into my mouth. "I'm just tired. No big deal." I stand up and grab the tray. "Come on into the kitchen and eat with me. I might share." I wink at him before leaving the room.

I hear him chuckling as he follows me. "So what's the plan for today?" I question through a mouthful of eggs. I'm really hungry...

He sits down beside me, stealing a piece of bacon. He must've already eaten because if not he'd be attacking this food right now. "I told you. It's a surprise."

I pout. "Please, Pauly?"

Laughing, he ruffles my hair. "You'll see tonight, babe."

"Do you work today before we go out?"

He shakes his head. "No I got Sam to give me today off. Why? Do you want me working today?" He grins cockily at me, already knowing my answer.

Rolling my eyes, I say sarcastically, "Oh yes, I don't want to see my husband on our anniversary at all."

"I knew it."

I lean over and kiss him and don't bother pulling back. Opening my mouth, he instantly pushes his tongue into my mouth exploring around. We kiss for awhile but my stomach ruins it and growls. Chuckling, he pulls away. "Eat up babe. You're going to need the energy tonight."

I blush, nibbling at the rest of my breakfast. He's probably right; most of the time he is. So I eat the rest of my breakfast and then take the dishes to the sink. When I start to clean them, Paul's hands snatch my wrist. "Nuh-uh," he chastises. "You aren't doing any housework today. I'll do them."

"It's your anniversary too, Paul," I remind him, smiling.

He spins me around, picking me up bridal-style. "Yeah, but you always do the dishes. I wanna be nice. Let me." I giggle as he starts kissing my neck and refuses to put me down.

"All right, but don't hurt yourself."

He scoffs jokingly and put me down. "Um," he scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Where's the dish soap?"

I burst out laughing, unable to control myself. His face turns bright red which makes me laugh even harder. "We've lived here for two and a half years and you still don't know where the dish soap is?"

He, somehow, turns even redder. "I... uh, guess I've never done dishes." He frowns, looking disappointed in himself. I giggle; he's adorable when he does that.

"That's okay," I tell him, stroking his cheek gently. "It's under the sink. Do you know _how _to do dishes?"

He glares playfully at me. "_Yes_."

I leave him to do the dishes, not sure if it's such a great idea. It's not that I don't think he can do dishes. I'm pretty sure I've seen him do it before at his mom's house but if he gets mad, all our dishes might not be usable anymore. After a while, I prop myself up on the counter beside the sink.

He smirks. "Don't trust me?"

I shrug, grinning. "Maybe. Maybe not. I'm just bored though. Can I help?"

He rolls his eyes. "No. That's the whole point of me doing the dishes, Ev." I pout, making his chuckle. "You're silly."

I dip my hand in the dish water and fling some bubbles at him. He gasps, grinning at me devilishly. "You're gonna get it Evs."

"If you can catch me!" I trill, hopping off the counter and skipping into our living room. He chases after me, not using his full speed of course. Eventually he has me cornered in the room.

"I think I got you." He launches at me teasingly, throwing me over his shoulder. "Now you're going to have to make it up to me. Let's go to the bedroom." I can tell he's grinning as he walks toward the bedroom.

I reach my hand down and cup his balls. He growls, speeding towards the bedroom. He tosses me carefully onto our bed, crawling over top of me. I grin as sexily as I can up at him. Surprisingly, without me even reminding me, he reaches for the condoms. He doesn't complain, he just puts it on. Normally that would be a good thing, but not when I know the only reason is because he doesn't want kids.

I sigh but as soon as his lips touch me again, all my worrying disappears and I focus on Paul.

…

We spent most of the afternoon in our bedroom but I'm definitely not complaining. At about five, Paul stopped and dragged me out of bed. "Come on, Evie, you have to get ready," he'd said, smiling at me.

At that point, I'd still had no idea where we were going so I didn't know what exactly I should put on. "But I don't know what to wear," I said, falling back on the bed and grinning at him. "And I wanna stay in here. With you."

He'd smirked, contemplating the idea. "As tempting as that is, we have all night for that. We have reservations." I sit cross-legged on our bed, watching him put on dress pants and a button-down t-shirt. When he's all dressed and I was still sitting, he walked over to my closet. He pulled out my black dress – one of the only dresses I own. It's a halter dress that falls to mid-thigh and dips in my back. Paul loves it. In fact, he probably only picked the restaurant because he'd know I'd wear it.

"Put this on, we're going out to dinner."

I did, and now we're driving to Port Angelos in the same truck he's had since I met him. "I remember the first time we came to Port Angelos," I say, smiling as I look at the trees passing by.

"Do you?" he challenges, seeming to think that I don't. "When was that?"

"Yeah, remember the waitress was a slut and you got all pissed and then we went to the park and there were assholes there which got you even more mad. Then we went home, and I sat in the middle 'cause I forgot to bring a jacket."

He laughs, smirking at me. "You always 'forget' to bring a jacket. And, no."

I raise an eyebrow, slightly hurt that he doesn't remember that. It was pretty much our first date. "You don't?"

He leans over, kissing my head. "Of course I remember that. But it wasn't our first time in Port Angelos." I shoot him a questioning look, certain that that was our first time. "We went one of the first days we met. I saw you on the beach and invited you. Then we went to your house and you showed me your medals before we left. _That _was our first time together in Port Angelos."

I frown, realizing he was right. "Well," I say, trying to think of a way to make my earlier statement correct, "the other one was our first date here."

Smirking, he kisses me again. "I'll give ya that one."

Chuckling, I smile brightly at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Evie."

We pull into Port Angelos moments later and he parks on the downtown streets. He opens the door for me as we walk down the street. He hasn't told me which restaurant we're going to and I can't think of one here that has a dress code or one that you need reservations for.

Paul proves me wrong, though. We walk into a really fancy looking restaurant that's a block away from where we parked. I'm honestly in wow at the place; it's beautiful. We're seated quickly and I smile at Paul. "Wow," is all I say.

He beams at me. "You like it, right?"

I nod and his smile expands. "It's amazing." Our waiter comes over and it occurs to me that this is the first time that we've gone to a restaurant and not had a girl as our server. Finally! He takes our orders and leaves quickly.

We get our drinks quickly, Paul ordered a beer and I ordered Iced Tea. One thing about him being a werewolf, his body temperature burns off the alcohol so he can't get drunk. We talk about everything – well, almost everything. Work, our friends, how great things have been. But I make sure to keep every conversation that could possibly lead to the word baby out of the picture.

The last thing I want is another fight tonight.

Our food comes pretty quickly considering how busy the restaurant is. I taste it, and it's really great. Like, it completes with Emily's cooking which is rare. "This is awesome."

He nods, mouth full. When he swallows, he agreed, "It's really good. But that might just be because I'm used to your cooking."

I stick my tongue out at him, ignoring the fact that we're in a classy restaurant. "I could just not cook at all."

He laughs, pecking my lips. "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Suuure you are," I reply, smiling. It's kind of the truth; I'm not that good of a cook. Especially compared to Emily. But I'm getting better. We finish eating and then Paul pays the bill. When we're leaving the restaurant, I smirk at Paul. "I think that's the only I've ever seen you refuse desert."

Chuckling, he wraps his arms around my shoulders. "You'll see why." We pull up to a Dairy Queen a few minutes later. Dairy Queen, to say the least, is one of my favourite places to eat. I beam up at him. He smirks. "Now we can go somewhere else if you want, but I figured you'd rather go here."

I nod, kissing him on the cheek. "Obviously." I put on my peacoat jacket – that I actually remembered this time – since my dress shows most of my back which isn't exactly appropriate for Dairy Queen.

Paul orders as I take a seat. Our orders have been the same for the past five years – he gets a banana split and I get an Oreo Blizzard. He takes a seat in the booth with our desserts. I smile, plucking the blizzard off the tray. "Thank you."

He grins, shoving some whipped cream into his mouth. "Anytime." He sticks his finger in the remaining whip cream and dabs it onto my nose.

"Hey!" I exclaim, laughing as he kisses my nose, taking the whip cream off. "You suck at the no PDA rule."

He smirks, pecking my lips before going back to his ice cream. "You don't really seem to care, now do ya?"

"Nope. I just like giving you a hard time."

We finish and throw out our garbage. As we leave, I ask, "So can I drive home?"

He pretends to ponder the idea. "Well... I really want to make love to you when we get home and if you drive, we'll both be dead so that probably won't happen."

I shove him jokingly. "Whatever! The state of Washington seems to think I can drive." During my senior year, I'd gotten my driver's license since I needed it to go to university here in Port Angelos. But for the year I learned to drive, it had been Paul teaching me. Let's just say he has a lot of reasons to not trust my driving. But I'm good at it now!

He chuckles, leaning up against the hood of his truck. "The person who did your test was probably a gymnastics fan and didn't have the heart to fail you."

I make a face at him before scooting around him and hastily hopping in the drivers seat. He climbs in the passenger seat as I search in vain for the keys.

He smirks. "Looking for these?"

I look over at him and see the keys dangling from his hand. "Come on, Paul, give them to me." He holds them out of my reach and I have to lay on him just to get close to them. He smirks, enjoying this. "The longer you hold them, the longer we're not in our bedroom."

He frowns, not liking that I'm right. Quickly he hands them over to me. "Only because I really want you."

I turn on the ignition. "You know I'm not going to be able to walk tomorrow."

He chuckles as I pull out of Dairy Queen. "You can never walk when I'm done with you."

"That's because you're too god damn big," I mutter, trying and failing to hide a grin. I turn on the radio and switch it to the country channel.

He groans. "What are you doing?"

"You always say that driver gets to pick," I tease.

He pouts like a three year old. "That's only when I'm driving."

I shrug, patting his knee. "Too bad you think that."

He laughs, leaning across the cab to kiss me. I have to stop him. He might be able to do that while he's driving but I can't without killing us both. We get home shortly and to no one's surprise, Paul goes straight to the bedroom.

Rolling my eyes, I call, "Paul!"

He pops his head out of the door, motioning for me to join him.

I smirk. "Don't you want your present?"

"I'd prefer you," he admits, smirking.

I grab his present out of the drawer in the living room cabinet anyway and join him in the bedroom. He's sitting on the bed in just his pants and holding a small box. "Ooh, I get one too?" I ask, straddling his waist.

"Of course." He grins, handing me the box. "Open yours first."

I do and smile as I open the box. It's a beautiful sapphire necklace. "Thank you," I whisper, kissing him gently. Handing him his gift, I lean back some so he has room to open the card.

He looks up at me in confusion when he opens it. There's a tiny little TV I drew at the bottom since I didn't want to carry the flat screen I bought him around with me. "I don't get it."

I giggle and point at the drawing. His mouth opens in awe. "You got me a TV?"

I nod, not sure if he'll like it or not. He always complains about how our old clunky TV is annoying so I figured he would.

He smiles, kissing me roughly. "You're the best. We'll check it out tomorrow. Right now you aren't leaving this room.

I giggle. He rolls me onto the bed, kissing me passionately. And when the time comes for it – although I did know it was coming – I try not to feel offended when he grabs more condoms.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Two weeks have passed since our anniversary and I still haven't been able to tell Paul that I might be pregnant. It's not something I can just spring on him but I don't have a clue how to start the conversation.

Right now, he's on patrol and I'm laying on First Beach with Kim. I want to ask her for help but at the same time, she'll tell Jared and he'll tell Paul. I can't be mad at her for that because I'd do the same thing. I normally find it hard to not tell Paul things yet here I am, not being able to tell him something he needs to know.

My main problem is that he'll notice the second my stomach starts to grow. Even if it's just a centimeter. He'll notice. And if I am, I'll start showing in two or three weeks from now – not enough for others to notice but enough for him to. And if I can't tell him my suspicions by them I'm screwed.

"Convince Paul to have a kid yet?" Kim asks casually, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I manage to shoot her my best 'what are you talking about?' look. But Kim's one of my best friends, and she always knows when something is up. I lie anyway, "Where'd that come from?"

She laughs, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Ev. I know how upset you were when he said he doesn't want kids. Have you talked to him about it?"

Only about a million times. Only enough to get a million excuses. Only enough to realize I may never change his mind. I sigh sadly. "He doesn't care what I have to say, Kim. He doesn't want kids and anytime I bring it up he just gets pissed off."

Kim shoots me a sympathetic look although I know she doesn't understand. Jared makes it clear he wants kids. Hell, it's her that's making him wait. "You know he does care what you have to say," she tells me earnestly. I know she's right but he doesn't like what I'm saying and for some reason it gets him mad. What makes me even more aggravated is he's never mad at me when he gets pissed. It's like he's mad at himself and I don't understand why. "There must be something up, Everlie, because he loves kids."

Groaning, I roll to face her. "I know he does and that's what pisses me off. He won't give me the reason why he doesn't want them. And he doesn't even say, 'not right now' it's always 'not ever' which I don't understand. He _never _gives me a good reason either. They're just stupid excuses that easily have a solution."

"Wanna talk about something else?" Kim suggests.

I nod thankfully. Not too long after we change the subject, Emily comes over to us with Wyatt. "Hey," she greets, setting him on the floor.

I smile up at her. "Hey." Wyatt runs over to me, tapping me with his palm.

"Where's Pawl?" he demands in a cute little toddler way.

I laugh. "He's not here. Why do you not wanna see me, WyWy?" I ask, tickling his gently.

He bursts into shrieks of laughter before crawling up onto my lap. I cuddle him close, playing with him and keeping him occupied as Emily and Kim chat. They keep shooting knowing glances and smiles at Wyatt and I and then burst out giggling. Yeah, I get it, I'm great with kids. You don't have to remind me when my husband isn't ever going to let us have kids.

Eventually, the boys must be off patrol because after about a half an hour, Sam, Jared and Paul come over to hangout with us. Wyatt gets excited when he's see his Daddy and leaves me forgotten. I'm not really mad though. It's really cute how good of a dad Sam is to him. Paul sits down beside me as do the others to their imprints. I cuddle into his side.

"So," Jared says, pulling Kim into his side, "when we going to have ours Kim?"

Paul stiffens at this, making me stifle a sigh.

Kim rolls his eyes as Jared pouts hopefully at her. "We already went over this, babe, no time soon."

Jared smirks over at me and jokes, "Damn Everlie, I think I should've imprinted on you and Paul should've imprinted on Kim. Then we'd get to have kids."

I laugh, finding his joke funny. It's pretty ironic how things worked out like this. Although the thought of feeling any way besides platonic for Jared, revolts me. Paul doesn't find it funny, he snarls at Jared. I roll my eyes. At least him and Kim are willing to talk to each other about it. Paul doesn't even give the subject a chance...

Sighing, I decide to let it go and try to just have fun. "Anything interesting happen on patrol?"

Paul relaxes the second we're off the subject. _Stop letting stupid things bother you_, I tell myself. "Not really," he admits, kissing the top of my head. "Anything interesting happen on the beach?"

I shake my head. "Just played with Wyatt and talked to Kim and Emily."

The guys all start talking again while Emily takes Wyatt down to the water. I slide out of Paul's arms to sit beside Kim. Their talk about football in no way interests me. "I'm bored," I tell her.

She laughs. "We could always go cliff diving."

I roll my eyes, clamping my hand over her mouth. "Don't give them any ideas!" After the first time I cliff-dived, I never did it again. I went with them when they did sometimes but I just stayed up top while they had fun.

"What's that I heard?" Paul asks, grinning. "Did Evie say she wanted to go cliff-diving?"

I glare at him. "Never in your life-time will you ever hear me say that Paul Walker."

He laughs. "A guy can dream, can't he?"

I nod, winking at him. That's all he'd be doing with me when it came to cliff-diving.

The hours pass slowly and boringly. I finally leave with Paul and we go home. Despite getting it a couple weeks ago, we still haven't put his television together. "Want to hook your TV up?"

"Sure." He walks over to the couch where the box has been sitting and I situate myself on the floor in front of our old television. He joins me and sends me a lop-sided grin. "How long do you think it'll take us?"

I ponder the question. "With the two of us... we may never finish."

He chuckles, opening the box. "That's encouraging."

I shrug and pull the box as he pulls the TV out. "We're not exactly the sharpest crayons in the box."

He smirks. "I may not be, but you definitely are."

Rolling my eyes, we begin to search through the box. All we have to do is put the television on it's stand and plug it in. It something that should be extremely easy. Should be. "What's this for?" I ask holding up a little black square thing.

Paul inspects it. "I think it's what you use to attach the stand." He checks in the booklet. "Yeah, definitely that." After putting everything in the right place, he asks, "Can you go to my tool box and get me a Phillips screwdriver, babe?"

I nod and don't remember until I'm at the tool box that I have absolutely no clue what the screwdriver's name is. "Um, Paul!"

"It kind of looks like a star," he calls back making me smile. He knows me so well. I grab what I'm hoping is the right screwdriver and go back to the living room. "This one?" I ask hopefully.

He nods and takes it from me. "You're too cute," he mumbles as he begins to secure the screws in.

I blush, sitting down again. When he gets the screws in, he lifts it up on our entertainment centre. I attempt to help him but he says he's got it. He's too big to fit behind it so once the TVs in place, I have to go behind and plug it in. He feeds me the chord but there's at least three stuck in my face and I have no idea which one it is.

"Which one is it? There's three."

"Um, I don't know. The black one?"

I snort. "They're all black there sweetheart."

He chuckles. "Okay, um, just try one."

I do and sparks fly out of the plug making me scream. Luckily, they miss me but when I jump back, I hit my head on the entertainment centre.

"Oh my God! Are you okay, Evie?" Paul exclaims frantically.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I plug it back in successfully this time.

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it?" he continues in worry.

"Really, Paul, I'm fine. And you wouldn't fit back here. Try turning it on; I have the plug in."

"Nope," he sighs, "it's not working."

"Okay, I'll try the next one." That one doesn't work either but there's no sparks so it's all right. Finally, the last one works and I back away carefully from behind the centre. "Yay! We're done!" I giggle as he picks me up and spins me around and around.

Once he puts me down, he glances at our clock. "And it only took us an hour."

I roll my eyes. "That's pretty pathetic, you know that right?"

He smirks at me, pulling me into his chest. "Oh well, just more time I have with you before I go to work."

I groan in protest. "What? Why do you have to go? You worked most of the day!"

He sighs, hugging me tightly. "I know, princess, but it'll only be short. I'm off at two and I don't start until ten."

"But it's eight right now." I pout, making him smile sadly at me.

"I'm sorry. Blame Sam. He's the one being a douche."

Sighing, I nod. It's not his fault but it's far from convenient. "I know. I just hate you not being here."

Leaning down, he kisses me tenderly. "I hate being away from you, too." He grins and drags me to the kitchen. "I'll make you an ice cream sundae if it will make you feel better."

I chuckle. "It won't but what girl can refuse a sundae?"

He laughs and pulls out the ice cream, syrups, whipped cream, bananas and bowls. Paul isn't much better of a cook than me but he makes amazing sundaes. He makes mine first and hands it to me before starting his own. "Good, isn't it?"

I nod.

"It's because I made it," he informs me, grinning cockily.

Rolling my eyes, I take a bite of the sundae. "You are so cocky, Paul." 

"You're being mean, I'm going to have to punish you." I raise an eyebrow as he smirks. His punishing usually is really good sex. This time he surprises me and squirts some whipped cream in my face. Gasping, I lunge for the chocolate syrup.

"Jerk!" I laugh, squeezing the bottom and getting syrup all through his hair. He puts more cream on me and before I know it, we're both covered in whipped cream and chocolate syrup. He's sitting on the floor so I sit on top of him. "You know you have patrol in fifty minutes."

He pulls me closer which in reality just makes us both more dirty. Oh well. "Yeah, I guess we should clean this mess up."

I groan taking in the messy kitchen. "No, it's okay. You go clean yourself up, I'll take care of it down here."

He refuses and helps me until the kitchen is back to being somewhat clean. Then, with fifteen minutes until he has to leave, he rushes into the shower. When he comes out, he has enough time to kiss me goodbye and I love you and then leave.

I sigh once he's gone. I really do hate when he's gone. Deciding that being this sticky mess isn't fun, I take a shower myself. Looking down at my stomach as the water hits me, I wonder what it will look like in a few months if I am pregnant.

Since I started gymnastics as a toddler, I've never had an ounce of fat on me. Even now that I don't do barely any physical activity besides running sometimes, I'm still really skinny. My muscle is pretty much gone but it didn't turn into fat surprisingly. Honestly, I have to admit I was a little disappointed that I didn't get any curves after I quit. Almost every other gymnast did but not me. Nope I still have a little ass and barely any boobs at all.

Paul doesn't complain but I still hate being so flat...

I get out of the shower, shivering. Normally showers at night aren't a problem because Paul's here to warm me up. When he's not though, they're miserable. Throwing on a fuzzy pair of pajamas and some socks before snuggling deep until the comforter.

I guess I take Paul being here to keep me warm for advantage. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

There's one convenience store in La Push and it's located in the centre of town. The store always has citizens of the rez rambling through it. To top things off, the three women who work there are the biggest gossip in town.

So when I finally decide to go buy a pregnancy test, I steer clear of that convenience store. One thing I hate about La Push is that rumors and gossip spread like wildfire. The last thing I need is for Paul to get news that I'm pregnant before I even know if I am. And especially not before I know how to explain this to Paul.

Paul's at the shop working, so I take his truck and drive down to Forks. The town is small as well but no one knows who I am here – besides gymnastic fans, I guess. Plus, they don't care and if a rumor did spread, it would not go all the way to La Push.

I pull up outside the only grocery store in town since I'm not sure if their corner stores carry pregnancy tests. Locking the truck door, I head inside. It's not too packed but there's quite a few people in the building. I head straight to the pharmacy section. Their pregnancy tests are right between where you order your prescriptions and the shampoo. I've seen them a million times before.

I honestly don't know much about pregnancy tests, like which ones are more accurate. Not wanting to ask for help, I grab a pink one that I saw on an ad on television before.

The pharmacy is closed since it's a Saturday so I have to go to the front cash registers. I know it shouldn't bother me but I really don't want to run into someone that I know. Just my luck, as I'm walking out of the aisle, I slam directly into Dr. Cullen. Since he's as a hard as a rock I bounce backwards. He stable me, sending a friendly smile at me. "Hello Everlie. I haven't seen you in awhile. How have you been?"

I begin fidgeting with the test in my hand instantly. Smiling nervously, I answer, "Um, okay. How have you been?" I know the Cullens come to the stores every once in awhile to keep up appearances but why did he have to be here the one day that I was?

"Good. Good," he answers, noticing the pregnancy test. He smiles probably expecting me to be happy – which I want to be. "Ah, are you expecting?"

I blush deeply. I really like Dr. Cullen, he helped me a lot and that's probably the only reason I don't leave right then. "Paul sure hopes not," I mutter darkly before realizing what words just came out of my mouth. Oh my god, did I just say that out loud?

His eyebrows shoot up and I can tell he's come to the conclusion that he shouldn't ask anymore questions. "Well. I hope you the best. It was nice seeing you."

"Thanks. Nice seeing you, too." My voice is high-pitched now something that always happens when I'm nervous.

Hastily, I go to the cash, pay for the test and head out of the store and toward my car. I know Dr. Cullen won't say anything and even if the mind-reading vampire finds out I'm sure he won't say anything to Jake. That would be the only thing that could happen. And even if he did, I doubt Jake is even at the Cullens' house right now. I have nothing to worry about.

Except Paul's reaction.

Gulping, I turn the key and start the truck. It's almost five o'clock and Paul was off at four so I know he'll be home when I get there. The thought makes me drive slowly. I stop at every stop sign for longer than necessary and when I pull into the driveway, I take my time getting out of the car.

I walk through the front door, hearing Paul running the sink in the kitchen. I don't say a word but walk straight into the kitchen. My little bag in hand. He turns when he hears me and shoots me a breathtakingly beautiful smile.

I try to return him one but fail. His falters and immediately he asks in concern, "What's wrong? Are you okay? You look a little pale, babe."

I bite my lip. "Paul, we need to talk."

A frown forms on his face. "About what?"

"About something that I haven't been able to tell you for the past couple weeks even though I really should have," I say it quickly trying to get this over with. When he just stares at me questioningly, I continue, "Please don't be mad that I didn't tell you it's just I didn't know how and I … I was scared to see your reaction."

He gulps. "Why would you be scared, sweetie?" He touches my cheek gently. "Don't be scared to tell me something."

I want to point out that every time in the past few weeks I've mentioned the words baby he's made it clear he doesn't want to know what I'm trying to say. I say. "It's about something you don't want to talk about." Something you don't want.

He nods. "Come on, Ev, what's going on?"

I twist the plastic bag around in my hands timidly. "I think I might be pregnant."

Paul instantly pales and his eyes become as large as saucers. The look on his face is something I've never seen on him before. He's literally terrified. "W-what?" I don't have time to explain. "How the fuck could you be pregnant?" he whispers. "We used condoms and you were on the pill."

"Well..." I stutter quietly.

His eyebrows shoot up. "_Well_?"

I bite my lip again. "You knew I forgot to take a pill a few weeks ago. And then I didn't start my period – I still haven't – so I stopped taking them in case I am. It's not good for the baby if you take them."

He stares at me in disbelief still looking terrified. "But if you weren't to begin with you could be now because you weren't on the pill." He's shaking slightly and I can tell he's pissed about this fact.

Sighing, I shake my head. "We've been using condoms since I thought I might be. Please don't be mad at me," I whisper, blinking back tears.

His shaking subsides and he pulls me into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around me. "I'm sorry, Evie. I know I'm making this harder on you. Do you have a test to take?"

I nod, gesturing to the bag in my hand. "Can you come with me while I take it?" My voice sounds like a terrified child's but I can't help it. This could be a life changing moment.

"Of course," he assures me, following me into the bathroom. The terrified look on his face hasn't disappeared and if anything, I think it's gotten worse.

With trembling hands, I pull the test out of the bag and set it on the counter. There's nothing else for me left to do but take the test but for some reason I just stare at it. Paul's fidgeting behind me so I pick up the box and read the instructions. I know you're supposed to pee on it but that's about it. 

It says that you have to wait two minutes after you pee to see the results. So in about three minutes, things are going to change. In one way or another at least. "A-are y-you gonna take it?" Paul asks anxiously.

I nod, exhaling slowly. Finally, I take the test out of the box and pee on it. I turn around to lean on the counter for support. "It take a couple minutes before it shows," I admit quietly. He nods but doesn't come over to me. He stays in the doorway, clutching the door frame. Studying him, I realize he still looks terrified and anxious and although it's faint, his body is still shaking. More from nerves than anger though.

His eyes flicker to the clock in the hallway. "It's been two minutes."

Nodding, I whisper to myself, "This is it."

I glance down at the test and disappointment washes over me. I know I shouldn't be disappointed; this is supposed to be a good thing. A great thing. But the disappointment doesn't go away. It just grows and grows until hot tears and pouring down my face and my throat is choked with them.

Paul's terrorized look turns into traumatized and he opens his mouth to speak. Quickly, he closes it before he can say anything but after a moment opens it again and whispers, "You're pregnant?"

The words along with his horrified tone repeat themselves in my head over and over again, tormenting me. Slowly, I shake my head. "No. I'm not."

Pain shoots through me at the words and I slide down the counter to the floor, my body wracking with sobs. Paul's face is clouded in disbelief and he begins shaking when he sees me huddled on the floor, sobbing. "Then... then why are you upset?"

I don't bother looking up at him. The fact that he's glad I'm not just makes me feel even worse. I was so convinced that I was pregnant. And as scary as the thought was, I was so excited. I want a baby so much. I'd been having typical pregnancy symptoms – which looking back was probably because I thought I was – and I just _felt _like I was.

And then I saw the test. And I've never felt so disappointed or hurt in my life. Not when I fell during my floor routine, not when I found out I had to quit gymnastics. Never in my life have I felt like that. So I choke out through my sobs, "I... I want...ed to … be." Resting my head back on the counter, I realize just how much I wanted this. "So much," I whimper.

Paul begins shaking violently and even though I know my sobbing is making him worse, I can't stop. He storms out of the bathroom. "Paul," I try to call after him but it comes out as a broken whisper. He doesn't even look back and when he leaves, he slams the door so hard that the entire house shakes.

I pull myself into a fetal position, attempting to stop crying. "He'll come back," I blubber softly, "he always comes back."

But time passes and he still doesn't come back. When I finally get my sobbing under control – although tears are still streaming down my cheeks – I chuck the pregnancy test into the trash and slowly walk into the kitchen. "Paul?" I call, more loudly this time. Maybe he came back and I just didn't hear. But no. I don't get an answer back from him.

Glancing at the clock on the microwave, I gasp out a sob. It's half past nine... It had been around six when he left. Trying to put things together in my head, I come to the conclusion that it wouldn't take him three hours to calm down. He must have been calm awhile ago; he just chose not to come back.

Stumbling over to the couch, I collapse on it and cry some more. In an attempt to distract myself and possibly calm down enough so I can get out a full sentence, I turn on the television. I don't bother to check what show is on; I just stare blankly at the set.

_It's not too late, he'll be home soon_, I tell myself repeatedly. But when it's half past ten and he's still not home, my panic comes back. Where could he be? He might have went to his mom's house but I don't want to call her unless I'm sure. She'd just worry if he isn't there.

My only other verdict is that he might be on patrol. He won't go to one of the guys and ask if he could stay the night because I know unless he was really mad, he would never tell the guys how he reacted.

There's only one person who I can call. Reaching for the phone, I dial Sam's number quickly. "Hello?" he answers in confusion, probably wondering why someone would call him this late.

Taking a deep breath to clear my throat, I'm about to ask the question that's answer will hopefully be the least painful, "Hi, Sam, it's Everlie. Is Paul on patrol?" My voice is shaky and he'll definitely know something's wrong.

"Um, yeah. He went on at ten. Why is something wrong? Do you want me to go get him?"

My heart plummets at his answer. Since _ten_? That's only forty minutes ago. He left, had no where he _had _to be all day and didn't come back? "N-no, that's okay. I just... wasn't sure where he was," I add, my voice breaking at the end.

"Everlie, what happened?" Sam demands gently. "Do you want to talk to Emily?"

Honestly, I want to just hang up and cry. How could he not come back? He's never not come back after this much time. But maybe it will help getting it off my chest. "Please."

I hear shuffling as Sam hands her the phone and explains, "Something's wrong with her. She sounds pretty bad and she said she didn't know where Paul was..."

When Emily's voice comes on the phone, it has her typical motherly tone which I find a little comforting. "What happened sweetie?"

My sobs burst out again and I cry out, "He left."

"Wh-what do you mean he _left_?" she stutters, sounding worried. "Tell me what happened; start from the beginning."

"W-well. I thought I was pregnant so I went to get a test. A-nd... I came home to tell P-p-paul. He looked... horrified but he... came with me to take it." I swallow quickly, trying to keep the tears away. "I t-took it and when I saw the results, I started crying." I add in a whisper, "I really thought I was and I-I-I was really … upset when I wasn't." Regaining my voice, I continue, "He thought I was crying 'cause I was and he started shaking and getting freaked out. So I told him I wasn't and he got really mad and... I don't know. He just left. He got angry and left when I told him I wanted to be."

"It's all right, honey," I says soothingly. "It's going to be okay. I'm sure he just... lost track of time. On second." She covers the mouthpiece of her phone but I can still hear her conversation with Sam. "Paul lef – "

He must cut her off because I hear him respond, "I heard. I can't fucking believe him. He didn't mention a thing when I talked to him earlier. I'm going to go find him."

"Be careful," she calls after him. Then she removes her hand, bringing her focus back on me. "Are you going to be okay? I can come over." And bring Wyatt which will just remind me of the one thing I want and can't have.

"N-no. It's okay... I'll, uh, deal. I've got to go Em." I hang up instantly and run into my bedroom. I don't bother to change and just jump under the covers. I sit at the headboard, cradled in the fetal position with the comforter pulled up to my chin. More tears come down my face and once again my sobs and shaking my entire body.

Where is he? Why can't he be here with me? As mad as I am right now at him, I want him to be here with me more than anything.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Paul's POV

I couldn't stay in that room any longer. I can't stand there and watch her that hurt, that broken. Especially when I know that it's my fault she's that disappointed. It kills me to see her like that. It's killing me not being able to give her the one thing she wants more than anything. But I can't give her it no matter how much I want to please her.

I can't put a kid through that and I definitely can't put my own fucking kid through it. I just... can't.

Even after a few hours of running and trying to calm down, I still wasn't. Before I knew it, I had to be on patrol in a half an hour. That's when I started to focus on concealing my thoughts. The last thing I want is for the whole pack to find out everything that just happened.

On my way to the forest, I run into Sam. "Hey Paul," he calls, grinning.

I force a smile knowing that I can't let him catch on to anything. He wouldn't understand – well, actually he might be the only one who would besides Embry but I try to convince myself that's not true – especially since he has a kid and wants more. "Hey."

"You on your way to patrol?"

I nod. "Yup, if you stop keeping me."

He laughs, falling for my act. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. See ya later bud!"

I say goodbye and run for the woods. I'm patrolling for awhile with Embry, Brady and Jared and doing a really good job at controlling my thoughts. In fact, I'm hiding them so well that they're starting to get curious of what I'm thinking about.

I still haven't thought about what to say to her but I know I have apologize my ass off. Also, somehow force her to finally realize that I'm just not going to have kids. Sighing, I continue to sniff the ground. No leech scent, good.

Suddenly, Sam phases and I can tell he's pissed. What's going on?

_You want to know what's wrong, Paul_? he wonders angrily. _How about the fact that your imprint just called my house crying because she didn't know where you were and she had no fucking idea if you were going to come back!_

Everyone's thoughts stop. Everything stops – for me at least. She's still crying? She thinks I'm not coming back? Oh fuck, I screwed up so badly!

_You think? Paul, what the hell is going on with you?_

I conceal my thoughts abruptly. They can't know. They won't understand. _It doesn't matter._

_You know as well as I do that it does Paul. I can tell it's killing you that she's hurt but what did you expect? You know she wants a baby. It doesn't matter if it wasn't planned she's obviously going to be upset when she finds out she's not pregnant._

I growl. _I wish you'd stop fucking telling me things I already know. You don't understand Sam, okay? So stop trying to. I'll fix this without your help._

He sighs in frustration before calmly thinking, _I know, Paul. And you don't have to tell me, but I think you should tell Everlie. Go talk to her. She's... really hurt Paul, she needs you. _

I nod. _Thanks. I'll be back._

_What's going on? _I hear Brady complain before I phase out. Once I am, I head to my pile of clothes, throw them on and then run to our house. I have no idea what to say to her. She really thinks I'm not coming back. That fact just dumbfounds me. I would never leave her although today I did a poor job of showing it. I just couldn't do that to her.

In the backyard, I can already hear her sobs. They aren't really that loud, mostly just sniffles, but my werewolf hearing makes them loud and clear. The sight I see as I walk into our bedroom makes me want to cry. She's huddled up under the covers, bawling.

"Evie," I whisper, swiftly approaching the bed. "I'm so sorry."

She glances up at me. Despite the hurt, anger and fragility of her expression, I can tell she's relieved I came back. "How could you leave like that Paul?" she demands in a whisper.

I sit on the side of the bed. "I... just... I don't know. I have no excuse because there is none that could ever be good enough. It just kills me to see you like that when I know there's nothing I can do about it."

She jumps forward onto her knees, glaring at me. "There is something you can do about it." Her glare softens and she begs in a desperate voice, "Please have a baby with me."

I rest my head in my hands, exhaling deeply. "I can't, Everlie. Please understand that."

"Don't you dare say you fucking can't!" she cries. "Are you infertile?" I take it as a rhetorical question and don't say a thing. "Well _are _you? Because that's the only damn thing that would make you unable to have a baby!"

I flinch, looking at her beautiful face. It pains me to see her expression. Not once has she ever looked this broken. "Of course I'm not." Although I've never been checked out, I'm certain that I am fertile. "But, Ev, you don't understand."

"If it's another excuse for you not wanting a child with me, I don't want to hear it," she snaps.

I don't know if she'd understand if I told her the real reason I don't want to have a kid. I doubt she would; she wants a baby too much. When I don't say anything, she sighs. "Look Paul," she whispers, "if you didn't like kids or you weren't good with them, I might understand you not wanting a baby. But you _do _love kids and you _are _great with them. I've been trying for months to think of a reason why you don't want a kid but I haven't been able to think of one. At all.

"Don't you remember when we were in high school? Every time I mentioned kids, even just jokingly, you got so excited. Why aren't you now? Why don't you want to have a baby with me?" 

"Evie," I sigh, "you know this has nothing to do with you."

"No!" she exclaims. "I don't because you won't tell me. I've tried and tried and tried to talk about this with you and all you do is end the conversation. You can't expect me to understand when you won't tell me."

"I've understood plenty of things for you when you wouldn't tell me a damn thing. And I did it because I love you."

She blinks, looking like I just slapped her in the face. "Oh, so that's what this is about? I don't love you enough?"

I gape. "No. That's not what I meant!"

"Well what did you mean, Paul? 'I let you not explain things because I love you but clearly you don't love me enough to do the same thing'."

"I never said that."

Her lip trembles, making me want to reach out and hold her. "You may as well have."

I shake my head. "Well if that's the way it sounded then I'm sorry. All I meant is that I need you to trust me when I say I have a good reason."

"It's not a good enough reason if you won't even tell me." She crosses her arms over her chest, searching my eyes with hers. "What do I have to do to get you to have a baby with me? I'll do anything."

The eagerness in her voice makes me blanch. "There's nothing you can do. I told you: I am not having a kid."

She opens her mouth but then closes it, glaring at me. There's no anger to her stare though, it's just sadness.

"If you wanted a kid so badly then why didn't you just not tell me to use condoms and get knocked up on purpose?" My voice comes out more harshly than I intended and I instantly regret saying that. Not only because it hurt her, also because it might give her an idea.

"Because Paul," she admits, "I don't want to have a kid you're going to hate. I want you to love our baby and if you don't want one this much, you're not going to love it." I want to defend myself and say that I would never hate our child but I can't find the words.

I sigh in frustration. "Can't we just forget about this and move on?"

She stares at me in astonishment. "Are you serious?" When I nod, she scoffs. "I can't believe you! Putting the whole baby aside, you broke pretty much every promise you've ever made to me today." I open my mouth to speak but she holds her hand up. "Don't, let me finish. You've promised me a million times you'd never leave. At least not longer than you needed to be gone. You were gone for five fucking hours Paul. Even if it did take you that long to calm down, you only came back because Sam went out to find you."

"I was obviously going to come back after patrol. Don't you believe me?"

"I did until today," she admits sadly. "And you promised you'd never hurt me, but you did. You promised you'd give me what I want and as much as I hate that promise, it's still a promise and you still broke it. But, most importantly, you promised you'd never lie to me. And by not telling me why you won't have a baby, that's what you're doing."

I cough, holding back tears I won't dare shed. "I'm so sorry Everlie. You have no idea how fucking sorry I am for everything today. I know I overreacted today but you have no idea how scared I was."

She bites her lip, silent tears falling down her face. "Yes I do. I saw how scared you were, Paul and it hurt me to see you like that. But _you _have no idea how disappointed _I _was when I found out I wasn't pregnant." She sighs. "I know I'm being selfish here, Paul. But if you would've just stayed with me and comforted me you know I would've done the exact same thing for you."

I groan, knowing she's right. Knowing she would've done anything to make sure I was okay, just like I want to do anything to make sure she's okay. I just happen to be naturally talented at fucking that up. "I know."

"Then... why?"

I bite my lip, looking at the wall. "Because I was being selfish. It just hurt so much to see you that hurt and know that I'm the reason."

A smile plays on her tear-stained face before she leans over and hugs me tightly. Feeling her arms around me, comforts me instantly. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly. "But you weren't the reason. I was just upset that I wasn't pregnant."

"But you aren't pregnant because I don't want a kid."

She rests her head against my chest. We stay there wrapped in each other's arms for a while. Suddenly a little gasp escapes her lips and she stares up at me, realization lighting up her face. "I'm so sorry."

My eyebrows furrow and I shoot her a questioning look. "What are you talking about, baby?"

She presses her lips lightly to mine. "You aren't ready," she whispers.

I sigh, annoyed that I have to repeat myself... again. "Everlie. I'm not going to ever have one."

"That's not what I meant." A few stray tears fall down her face again and I know I'm going to have to stop saying that. It hurts her every single time. "I meant that you aren't ready to tell me why you _say _you don't want a baby. I can understand that, but you will have to tell me eventually."

I nod. "I will," I promise.

She smirks, laying down on out bed and patting the empty space beside her. "And when you do, I'm going to do everything I can to change your mind."

I laugh, snuggling up to her for a second before groaning. "Dammit!" She frowns at me, confused. "I have to go patrol."

She pouts, her lips quivering unintentionally. "Can't you stay? I don't want you to leave." She looks so small and fragile looking up at me with her pleading expression. I've hurt her way too much today to hurt her even the slightest bit ever again.

"One second, I'll go ask Sam if I can skip it for the night."

She nods, pulling me in before I leave and kissing me with all the force she has. I kiss her back and pull back chuckling. "I'll be back, silly girl, don't worry."

She smiles timidly up at me. I wink at her and then run out into the woods. Throwing my clothes off once I'm there, I phase quickly.

_How'd it go? _Sam demands in apprehension.

I shrug. _We worked things out. Kind of. I still have a lot of apologizing to do but she really wants me to stay with her tonight... Do you mind if I go?_

_Normally I'd say you can't go, but go ahead. I'm sure she needs you._

_Thanks Sam. _

Just like last time, Brady's complaint is the last thing I hear before I shift out. One day he'll imprint and understand but until then, the pup just annoys me. I grab my clothes but don't bother putting them on. We won't do anything tonight but Everlie won't mind if I'm not wearing anything.

When I get into our room, she's just finished putting on a pair of shorts and an old tank top. Her hair is matted and her face is still stained with tears but like always she looks absolutely gorgeous. I throw my clothes on the basket in the corner and climb into beds. Holding my arms out, she giggles and climbs into them, cuddling into my chest.

She intertwines our legs, clutching herself to me. "We've been fighting way too much lately."

"I know," I whisper, kissing her hair.

"I don't like it."

"Me either," I murmur and hold her tighter.

"I love you." She pulls herself up and pecks my lips. I hold her lips to him and give her a lingering kiss.

"I love you too. Don't ever forget that."

She smiles, closing her eyes and resting her head on my pillow. I don't complain and just move over a bit more so she has room. "I won't. Not again," she promises.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I'm sitting on my couch, watching an episode of the Wiggles that I'm pretty sure I just watched two hours ago. Emily and Sam went into town to pick up a few things and she asked me to babysit. "To get Paul more into the baby idea," she'd said. I laughed her comment off; his problem wasn't that he's not fond of babies it's... something he still hasn't told me.

It's only been a few days since that night and I don't expect him to suddenly be ready to tell me. Although that would be nice, I know I have to give him time or he's never going to want to tell me. I'm okay with that and even though he's still completely against the baby idea, he hasn't been so irritable lately whenever the topic comes up.

"Wyatt, why don't we watch something else, honey? I have some Diego movies your mommy sent over here." I wave the DVDs around in the toddler's face but he just shakes his head and then gets up and starts doing the dance that's on the television. "Okay."

At least we aren't watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or My Friends Tigger and Pooh anymore. Those were horrid. I remember when Disney's little kid shows actually used to be good...

"This one again?" Paul asks, sitting down beside me and handing me one of his peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

I nod. "Yeah. I offered other shows but he said no."

He laughs, ruffling Wyatt's black curls as he climbs on the couch to join us. I give him a quarter of a sandwich and he happily takes it. He still hasn't taken his eyes off the television though. "You spoil him."

I shrug, smiling. "He's a baby and he's the only baby of the pack now; he's going to get spoiled."

"He won't be for long."

Hearing the words come out of his mouth, I turn to him quickly. Did his words mean what I hoped they meant?

He notices my reaction and frowns. "No, Ev, that's not what I meant." I look away hastily, feeling embarrassed. I should've figured that... "Em and Sam went to the hospital today. She's pregnant. He was thinking about it this morning when we were patrolling together.

"Oh," I say, trying to sound cheerful. "That's good. I'm sure they're really excited." Emily's one of my closest friends and I should feel nothing but happiness and excitement for her. I have to admit I'm a bit jealous though. There's nothing I can really do about it for now so I decide to let it go.

Paul drapes his arm around my shoulders, giving me an apologetic squeeze. I lean up and kiss his cheek. He already feels bad about this; I don't want to made him feel worse.

As soon as my lips touch Paul's cheeks, Wyatt covers his eyes with his sticky, peanut butter-covered hands. "Ewww!"

I chuckle. "You got peanut butter all through your hair silly."

He sends me a toothless grin. "Oopsie."

Smirking, I wipe some of the peanut butter off his cheek. "Finish eating then we'll get you all cleaned up." After he begins eating and watching television again, I turn to Paul. "So should you really have told me that? You know I suck at acting and she'll expect me not to know when she tells me."

He grins innocently at me. "Oopsie."

I roll my eyes, shoving him playfully. "It's cute when he does it. It just makes you look like a dumby."

He snorts. "Dumby? That's the best you've got?"

"There's a two year old in the room. I can't be using bad words."

Wyatt finishes his sandwich and I give him another quarter. Once he finishes that, I take him to the bathroom. Grabbing a wet cloth, I wipe his hair and face clean. "What do you want to do now, baby boy?"

He pouts, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm a big boy." He seems completely offended so I start tickling him and blowing raspberry kisses until he's shrieking with laughter. Paul comes in a few minutes later, leaning against the door frame.

He looks at us, smiling thoughtfully. I laugh and place the giggling toddler on my hip. "Come on, buddy, what do you want to do?"

"Treehouse!" He announces. Once upon of time that would've meant going outside, not watching more television. But it's raining outside so I guess that's our best option. I set him down on the living room floor where there's a few of his toys and find Treehouse on our cable. Luckily we have it.

"He's a lot like Paige," I comment. "Well, when she was little that is."

Paul nods. "Yeah, it's kind of funny. But I guess most kids are like that. You know, I think I'll be able to recite every show on here by the end of the day."

I laugh. "Get used to it." He shoots me a warning look and instantly I backtrack. "'Cause they're having another one so we'll be babysitting a lot. Plus Wyatt already has full control over the TV at Sam's." It's true. Us girls tried for an hour one day to get them to change the channel without success and Wyatt had walked in, said "I wanna watch Treehouse" and the channel had been changed before he was finished with his sentence.

He nods, smirking. "Sure Evie."

I make a face at him and stick my tongue out at him. "You're really annoying sometimes, ya know that."

"But you love me." He grins cockily making me giggle.

"Never said that I didn't."

…

Emily and Sam called us when they got home so we could go over for supper. And return their son. A few minutes later we left for their house, Wyatt and I decked out in our raincoats while Paul just had on shorts and a t-shirt.

I inspect Emily closely when we arrive. It doesn't take me long to notice the little baby bump forming on her stomach. How could I have missed that? "Hey Em," I greet, helping her with the meal.

"Hey! How was Wyatt today?" she asks curiously sending her son a playful "you better have been good" look.

I giggle. "An angel, like always."

"You clearly aren't around on his bad days," Sam jokes, picking up the toddler and taking him to his room. He ate supper at our house – after a million more shows on Treehouse – and it's past six so he's going to bed.

We laugh and I set the table. Surprisingly there's no other wolves here. Yesterday when we'd came over _everyone _had been here. To make an understatement, it was crowded. "What about you? How was your day?"

She answers casually, and almost nervously. I can tell she's sidestepping around being pregnant which really surprises me. When she got pregnant with Wyatt, she'd told Kim and I right away. Our conversations continue and I keep hinting at it; however, she keeps avoiding the topic and refusing to tell me her news.

We begin eating and I eventually stop slyly pestering her. Maybe they aren't announcing the news yet and I'm just being paranoid. It's not like Sam actually told Paul; he may have just thought it. Plus Paul wasn't supposed to tell me anyway.

I help Emily clean up while the boys watch the game. It's almost over when we're done so I watch the rest of the game with them before Paul and I go home. I'm already changed and sitting cross-legged on the bed when Paul comes in.

"Paul?"

"Yeah babe?" He strips down to his boxers before sitting behind me, pulling me in between his legs.

"Do you know why Em never told me she was pregnant today?"

He sighs, holding me tighter. "Yeah, but … just look at it from her point of view before you react okay?" I nod. "You called her like three days ago extremely upset that you weren't pregnant. She just doesn't want to make you upset by telling you. Or make you feel like she's rubbing it in your face."

I frown, feeling like a selfish brat. "That's not fair though. It's really exciting news for her. She shouldn't feel bad about telling me and she shouldn't keep it a secret."

He chuckles and lays back which pulls me with him. "Well, you can tell her that next time you see her. Until then, don't feel bad over it."

"Then make me feel better." I grin suggestively at him. Instantly, he rolls me over. He doesn't ever need much of an invitation.

…

The next day I make my way to Emily's. It's a sunny day out and when I enter her home, she says that Sam took Wyatt to the beach. She's all alone. Good. Like usual she's baking what looks like muffins but may be cupcakes. Wyatt really loves those so she makes them sometimes.

"So how was your trip yesterday?" I wonder, taking a seat at the table.

She smiles softly. "Really good, actually. Why do you ask?"

I shrug. "Well you never answered me when I asked yesterday so I figured I would try again."

She laughs and sets the tray of muffins – or maybe cupcakes – in the oven. After she sets it to the right temperature, she joins me at the table. We have mindless chitchat for awhile until finally I blurt out, "Paul told me your news."

She blinks in surprise before mumbling, "Everlie, I'm sorry."

Instantly, I feel bad because she does look sorry. "You don't have any reason to be sorry Em," I assure her, pulling her in for a hug. "You should be happy and excited and you should've told me. Congratulations!"

She laughs motherly. "I just didn't want to upset you any further. I was going to tell you earlier this week but you called so upset the other day and I didn't have to heart to tell you that we're having another one."

I smile, touched. She always thinks of everybody else. "Thanks, really. I appreciate that but I _am _really happy for you. And besides, if I can't have a baby, it's better to have more around, right?"

Chuckling, she nods. "I suppose so if you look at it that way... So any luck with convincing him?"

Shrugging, I shake my head. "Not really. I mean he doesn't get all pissed off when I bring it up now but he's still saying no. He said he'd tell me eventually so I guess I'm just going to have to wait."

She nods, squeezing my shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sure you'll get through to him. He loves kids too much to not have one sometime."

"That's what I thought!" I exclaim, laughing. "But you know, I kind of think he's just scared of something. Nothing else would really make sense."

"Yeah, you've got a point. I was actually pretty surprised when I found out he didn't want kids."

"Me too." I lean back in the chair and smile. "I remember when I first met his mom and I like convinced myself that Paige was his."

Emily bursts out laughing. "What? Why?"

"I don't really know; it just kind of made sense. I mean, he slept with like every girl on the res and just the way his mom would say things made it sound like it was his. I honestly think she was doing that on purpose so I would leave."

She raises an eyebrow. "But you guys get along so well."

I snort. "_Now_. She used to despise me."

Emily and I spend the rest of the afternoon reminiscing about old times and talking about her new baby. It's nice to just have girl time with no interruptions.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

On Sunday, Paul and I go to my parent's house for dinner. We leave early so we can stop at his mom's house for a little while. It's been a week or two since I've seen Paige and I'm sure she's dying to tell me all her elementary school news.

We aren't two steps through the door when Paige comes bounding down the stairs towards us. "Everlie! Paul! You're here!" She beams at us before pulling us into a hug. She's gotten pretty tall and – since I'm short to begin with – she's only a foot shorter than me.

"Yeah we haven't seen you in a while. How's school going?" With that she drags me to the living room couch and begins on a huge rant of the troubles of being a second grader. Boys being jerks, math being hard, having to share the playground. Her ramblings amuse me a lot; it's really adorable.

As Paige blabbers on, Paul goes into the kitchen to talk to his mom. Unlike me, he doesn't find his sisters 'troubles' amusing.

One thing that I'm actually surprised to hear from her is that Claire – Quil's imprint – is one of her best friends. They're only a year apart but from what I remember about elementary school, that's an eternity. "We're having show-and-tell tomorrow," she tells me excitedly before a small frown appears on her face. "But I don't know what to bring. Can you help me pick something?" 

I glance at the clock; we have to be at my parents' house in thirty minutes. "All right, sweetie, but we'll have to make it quick."

"Yay!" she cheers, dragging me up the stairs to Paul's old bedroom. His room was bigger so she moved in there when he moved out.

I never did show-and-tell at school since I only went to public school until I was twelve so I'm not sure what's appropriate to take. She shows me a bunch of stuffed animals, DVDs and toys. I end up picking her favourite stuffed bunny. It's really cute, to be honest.

After I convince her that it's a good choice, we walk downstairs to Paul and Laura. "You almost ready?" I ask him, placing an arm around his waist.

"Yup, all ready. I guess I'll see you later, Ma." He gives his Mom and Paige a hug and then we leave. The fifteen minute ride to my parent's house is filled with me informing Paul what I did with Paige. "Wow, you were up there for a half an hour picking out a thing for show-and-tell? That's kind of pathetic," he teases.

I roll my eyes. "It was really important to her. Besides, if she would've asked you, you'd be up there for a lot longer than I was."

He chuckles, his face tinging red. "Yeah probably."

Mom has the door open before we're even out of the car when we arrive. "Everlie!" she coos, pulling me into a hug. "It's been so long."

I laugh, hugging her back tightly. "I know Mom." It really hadn't been that long technically. But the last time I saw her was at my graduation ceremony which was a little less than a month ago.

She lets go of me and hugs Paul. "What do you think you're doing keeping my girl away from me?"

Chuckling, he answers, "Hey, you're the one who didn't call to invite us over!"

We go inside and supper – spaghetti and garlic fingers – is already cooked. Good I'm starving. "Hey Daddy," I greet, pulling him in for a hug. He responds with a ridiculously tight bear hug.

"Hey sweetheart. You kids ready to eat?"

I roll my eyes, sitting down in the chair Paul pulls out for me. "You can't call us kids anymore Dad."

Suddenly, both my parents stop everything they're doing. They stare at me, eyes bulging out of their heads. Oh god, please don't tell me they misinterpreted that... "Are... you pregnant?"

I sigh dramatically as Paul roars with laughter from beside me. "No. But I'm twenty-two so you can't call me a kid anymore." 

My dad smirks, clearly relieved – great, another person who's against me having a baby. "Oh, good. And I can still call you a kid because you still look like you're sixteen."

I glare as everyone at the table laughs at my expense. It's true, I don't look much older than sixteen. Every time we go to a bar or order an alcoholic beverage at a restaurant, I get carded. Then after they inspect it to ensure it isn't fake, they seem completely surprised. It gets annoying.

Paul ruffles my hair lightly which causes me to stick my tongue out at him. It's like they gang up on me every time we come here. I guess I shouldn't complain though; at least Paul and my dad get along now. It only took five years of him not screwing me over and not knocking me up for him to like him...

Dinner conversation quickly turns to my job at the school in September and then Paul's job at the car shop. I ask my mom how the hospitals going and she mentions something about being Dr. Cullen's assistant.

"Oh really? That's awesome," I tell her proudly. "He never mentioned it when I saw him the other day."

Paul's head snaps towards me. "When did you see him?"

"At the grocery store in Forks when I was getting the pre – " quickly I cover up my mistake with a cough, "prescription. Yeah when I went to get my prescription."

Paul smirks and shoves some spaghetti in his mouth so he doesn't burst out laughing. Luckily my parents aren't suspicious. My mom just continues on with conversation, "Oh, why'd you have to get a prescription."

Uhhhh... I try to think of something that you get a prescription for when you aren't sick. "Birth Control Pills," I lie, blushing faintly.

Paul is still trying hard not to laugh but my parents again don't notice. Once dinner is over, Paul and my dad go off into the living room to watch some baseball game. My mom and I stay and begin cleaning up. As soon as my mom is sure that they're in the room and can't hear us – even though Paul still can – she stops doing the dishes and turns to me. She has a curious expression on her face.

"You know, I'm actually surprised that you aren't pregnant by now," she tells me matter-of-factly.

"Mom!" I hiss quietly. "It's this magical thing called birth control; we're aren't stupid!"

She laughs, holding her hands up in defense. "Calm down, Evie. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I figured you guys would've wanted to have kids at this point. I know you're young and all still but you both love kids. I just figured you would be having one by now. That's all."

I force a tight smile. "It's … complicated Mom."

She raises an eyebrow. "Would you like to talk about it?"

I shrug, hopping up on the counter as I dry the dishes. "There's just a lot of stuff that we have to talk about before we jump into it, you know. I mean, Paul's gonna have to get rid of his truck so we can get a car. And I'd have to go on maternity leave for the last couple months of the school year and all. And money is always an issue. Plus... um..." I can't think of any other excuses because honestly, I don't see anything being too much of a price to pay for a baby.

"You're scared to be a mom," she guesses.

I want to shake my head and tell her that I think Paul is but since I know he can hear us if he's paying the slightest bit of attention, I don't bother.

"You'll be a great mom, Ev. I know you will. But don't come up with excuses you don't believe because you're scared to say you're scared."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mom," I lie. Her words make me feel happy inside though; she said she thinks I'll be a great mom!

She laughs. "Both of your incomes combined once you start working will be enough to take care of a baby. Plus you still have tons in that savings account of yours."

I blush, knowing she's right. Being the cover girl for a bunch of companies while I was still in gymnastics really makes things easier financially. "Okay, Mom. I know what you're saying. But I'm not scared. It's just... something else, and I really don't want to talk about it, okay?"

She smirks. "You just don't want to talk about it or you just don't want me to realize there's something else about this that you don't want to admit?"

I roll my eyes; she knows me well. Sometimes that's really annoying. "Look, Mom. It's nothing I can't handle."

"I just want to know if I'm going to get grandchildren someday."

I smile dreamily. "If I have any say in it, you definitely will."

She raises an eyebrow but doesn't push it any further. "All right, let's go watch the game. I'm sure Paul won't let you leave until it's over."

Chuckling, I follow her into the living room. "Probably not."

After the game ends, Paul is the one to suggest we leave. We say our goodbyes and leave for Paul's truck. The whole drive home, Paul seems nervous. He taps his fingers along the steering wheel and gnaws at his lip. Something I normally do but he never does. I hope my dad hadn't said something to upset him.

We enter our house and he goes into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. All right, that's pretty normal. "Hey." I lean up against the door frame.

He looks up, shooting me a small smile. "Yeah?" he says softly.

"I'm gonna get a shower before I go to bed." I smirk slyly at him. "Wanna join me?"

He turns back to making his sandwich so I can't see his expression. "Not tonight, babe. I'm gonna eat and then I've got some things to do around here. Thanks though."

"Oh, all right." I try to keep the emotion – and shock – out of my voice. "I'll, uh, see ya when I get out." His answer completely baffled me. I don't offer that very often and when I do, he never denies. In fact he usually springs out of his clothes and into the bathroom.

Taking one last glance back, I see him at the table. His face shows that he's deep in thought. _What's he thinking about?_ I think curiously. Paul doesn't really think that much. Well, he does but not deeply into things. It must be serious.

When I get in the shower, I let the water beat against me. There's no point in driving myself insane trying to find out what he's thinking about; he'll tell me when he's ready. I've learned that the hard way. I do everything slowly and end up washing my hair twice before I step out of the shower. If he wants to think, maybe the extra time will convince him to tell me.

Combing my fingers through my wet hair, I stare at the mirror. I turn sideways and attempt to push my stomach out. It doesn't work at all; there's no fat to even make a tiny bulge. Guess I'll have to be actually pregnant to even imagine what I'll look like.

I don't hear any movement from outside the room so I wonder if he went to bed. Quickly, I throw on my pajama pants and a tank top, rushing out to see where he is. To my surprise, he's still at the table with that intense expression on his face.

I stalk up behind him and rest my hands on his shoulders. He doesn't look up so I begin to rub my fingers in slow circles. Sighing, he leans into my touch.

"Are you okay, babe?" I ask in concern.

He brings his hands up to his shoulders and grabs mine. Carefully, he pulls me around so I'm in the chair next to him.

"We need to talk," he informs, looking anxious.

"About what? Is something wrong?" I fret.

He chuckles softly, the worry never leaving his face. "I'm ready to tell you why I don't want to have a baby." He gulps. "Why I won't have a baby."


	8. Chapter 8

**I got a lot of reviews - and a lot of complaints about the cliff hanger ;) - so I've decided to be nice and update :)**

Chapter 8

_He chuckles softly, the worry never leaving his face. "I'm ready to tell you why I don't want to have a baby." He gulps. "Why I won't have a baby."_

Him saying "won't" really concerns me but I nod nonetheless. I wasn't expecting him to say that for a while yet and now that he has, I'm not going to ruin it. Clearly, if his worrying is any indicator, this is a huge deal to him.

Reaching up, I stroke his cheek gently. "What is it, honey?" I ask encouragingly.

He bites his lip and brings his hand up to his cheek, holding mine in place. "What if I'm just like my dad?" he whispers, terror flashing in his eyes.

I have no idea what he means by that. "What are you talking about?" I wonder, trying to make my voice not sound demeaning. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, he rests his elbows on the table before propping his chin in his hand. "My mom always told me I'm just like him. What if she's right? What if I turn into a huge douche or can't handle being a dad? What if I leave our baby? I can't put my own kid through what my dad put Paige and I through."

I gulp, wracking my brain for the right words. "How long have you been thinking this?"

"Since..." he ponders over his answer, "Paige asked me why she didn't have a dad – when she started school."

"For almost three years!" I exclaim in disbelief. "You've been thinking this way since before you even proposed?"

His face is very melancholy looking when he glances up at me with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry."

Quickly, I shake my head and feel bad that I freaked at him while he's trying to tell me something important. "It's okay, sweetie. But you can't honestly think that. You're nothing like him."

"You've never met him," he says in the same dark tone he uses whenever he mentions his father. "My mom has, and she seems to think I am."

"Paul," I say quietly, pulling him into a tight hug. "She said that to you like what? Seven years ago?" He nods, shrugging it off like that's not relevant. "Paul, you're nothing like you were seven years ago."

"You can't guarantee that."

I sigh, pulling back to look him in the eyes. "Yes, I can."

He raises an eyebrow. Clearly he doesn't believe me. "Evie, you can't see the future. So you can't."

"Yes, I can," I respond with determination. "Seven years ago today, what were you doing?"

He rolls his eyes. "I don't know, it was forever ago; how would I remember?"

I smirk. "Well, considering what I know about you, I'd say you were either blowing off your mom, ignoring her requests, being an asshole to someone or fucking a random girl." He looks over at me, slightly annoyed but I stop him before he can object. "My point isn't to piss you off, babe. It's to point out that you aren't like that anymore.

"And you haven't been since I met you. I can guarantee you that if you asked your mom if she thought you were anything like your dad anymore, she'd say no." Pulling his face towards mine, I force him to look me in the eyes. "You've done nothing in the six years I've known you to make you seem even the slightest bit like your father."

We stare at each other for a few minutes. He doesn't say a thing but I can tell his brain is wheeling. Eventually, he says, "Really? Because the way I've been acting towards you and the way I've been treating you lately is exactly something that I would have never done or dreamed of doing in the last six years. It isn't right and I've been a complete asshole just at the mention of a baby. Who fucking knows what would happen if we had one." He stares at me pleadingly. "I can't do that to my own kid. Please understand."

A smile spreads across my lips which makes him frown in confusion. "Yeah, you've been kind of irritable lately, but if you haven't noticed, so have I."

He shakes his head in protest. "That's not your fault. I've been the one to cause that 'cause I'm such a fucking idiot."

I chuckle, kissing his forehead gently. "Let me finish, silly. You had something bothering you that you didn't want to tell me. It's hard keeping secrets from each other, I know. It makes us both frustrated. And honestly, Paul, answer me this: if you didn't have that fear of being like your father, would you want a kid?"

He bites his lip before answering with certainty, "Of course."

I fidget in order to hide my blooming smile. "Well then all you being an 'idiot' lately shows me is that you care enough about your baby who doesn't even exist yet to not hurt him."

"You're looking too far into it."

I shake my head. "No," I tell him firmly, "you aren't looking far enough into it. You would be an amazing father Paul. I know you would and whoever doesn't believe that, well their opinion doesn't matter because I know you better than whoever it is Paul. We both know that. You're caring, and passionate, and protective."

"I have too much of a temper. I wouldn't be understanding or reasonable enough."

I giggle. "Paul. You aren't doing this alone. So you'll probably run out of the house shaking the first time our daughter brings a boy home. So what? That's what I'm here for." I scoot over onto his lap and smile. "We're soul mates remember?"

He scoffs, before saying earnestly, "I could never forget that. But what does it have to do with us being parents? Or me being a horrible parent for that matter?"

"Sam once said that his theory on imprinting was that it is to carry on the line. Why would they put us together to have stronger wolf pups if you weren't capable of being a good dad."

"My dad carried on the line, so did Sam's dad. They're both horrible parents," he retorts.

"They didn't have imprints now did they?"

He sighs, resting his head against mine. "Everlie, please, I told you my reason. Why can't you understand it for me?"

"Because I know that you're going to _love _being a dad and I _know _that you're going to be an amazing one. I can't let you miss out on something you're going to love just because you're scared."

"I'm not scared," he denies. "I'm seeing things for how they are and not risking putting our kid through hell."

"If you thought we were never going to have kids, Paul, I doubt you'd keep saying things like 'our kid' and 'our baby'. If you really didn't want a kid, you'd say things like 'it' or 'that thing'."

A smile tugs at his lips. "I never said I didn't_ want_a kid. I said I'm not risking a child's mentality because I'm selfish enough to want a baby."

"It's not selfish to want a baby," I whisper. "It's natural. It's how things are supposed to be. I get that you don't want to end up like you're dad but I told you I wasn't going to have a baby if I didn't think you wanted one. Because that wouldn't be fair to the baby."

He nods. "So?"

"If I said that, then why would I want to bring a baby into this world if I even thought in the slightest bit that you were going to hurt it in any way?"

"But Evie, like I said, you can't see the future. Neither one of us can. What if something did happen and I did leave? I couldn't deal with doing that to our kid and sure as hell couldn't live with myself if I did that to you."

"But you won't. I know you won't. I really wish you'd stop seeing yourself as the bad guy Paul."

"Babe, you don't know what I was like before, okay? I'm not saying I would ever go back to being like that. I can't even imagine that. But I'm not perfect like you are. I make mistakes. And I don't want to make a mistake that screws everybody's lives over."

"I'm not perfect," I tell him but he sends me a 'yeah right' look that forces me to roll my eyes. "I'm not and as hard as it is for me to deny it, you aren't either. No one is. Everyone makes mistakes. The biggest difference between you and your dad Paul is that you know how to fix your mistakes. And how you handle your mistakes is what defines you as a person. Not the mistakes you make."

He doesn't seem to believe me in the least so I continue, "Every time you've ever made me feel even slightly bad or hurt, you've always come back and made sure I was okay. You _always _do. That's what makes me sure you wouldn't ever leave our baby. Even if the thought occurred to you."

He still seems reluctant to believe what I'm saying so I place my hands on each side of his face and kiss his lips softly. "Would you ever leave me?"

His eyes bulge out of his head and frantically he pulls me into a hug so tight I can barely breath. "No, never. Is that what you're getting from all this? Because I swear that's not what I'm meaning at all. I would never leave you! I will never leave you. Ever. Please believe that Everlie."

I smile, resting my forehead against his. "I know you won't and I'm glad you do too. But here's what I meant." I take a deep breath. "_I'm _never going to leave our baby. And if you're never going to leave me, then you don't have to worry about leaving him or her. Because I won't let it happen."

He face lights up like he's just seen the light for the first time. A smile breaks across his face, making me grin back at him. After a couple minutes of silence, he finally says, "Well then I guess we're going to have a baby."

Relief, happiness, and excitement all rush through me and I impulsively hug him, kissing all over his face. Chuckling, he kisses my lips before saying teasingly, "On one condition." I raise an eyebrow. "You have to try and convince Kim to have a baby with Jared."

I look at him with disbelief, a frown forming on my face in disappointment. "Are you saying that if I can't convince her to have a baby, we can't have one?"

His mouth gapes open. "Of course not!" Then he grins. "Geez, little miss over-reactive. Jared's just been bugging me to get you to do it for him but I didn't want to ask you to do that if we weren't having one ourselves."

I giggle. "Okay, I'll try but I make no promises. She's pretty stubborn." Standing up, I grab his hand and pull him up. "C'mon, let's go to bed."

"And try for that baby?" he asks, only half-joking.

I shove him playfully, skipping giddily into our room. I really don't think I've been this happy in a long time. "I'm on my period."

He frowns. "Damn. That really sucks. Especially since it's almost the Fourth of July."

I just laugh, climbing into bed. Paul shuts off the light and then falls into bed next to me. Even well after we originally went to bed, I'm still fidgeting and tossing back and forth happily. I'm too excited to go to bed.

Paul chuckles, pulling me into his chest. "Calm down and go to sleep, love," he mumbles. "God, when you actually get pregnant you aren't going to sleep for days."

I giggle. He may be right.

…

When I wake up the next morning, I glance at the clock to see it's only six o'clock. Paul is still asleep, snoring beside me. Memories from last night come flooding back making me too excited to even think of going back to sleep.

As quietly as I can, I slide out of bed. I dig through my drawers until I find a pair of jogging shorts and an old hoodie. It's been a while since I've gone running sadly but I'm in the mood for it. After putting them on, I search for a spare piece of paper on my night table. Scratchily, I write a note for Paul:

_Hey, babe, went for a run in case you actually wake up and find I'm gone :) Evie_

Tossing the pen down, I tiptoe out of the room and into the bathroom. I brush my hair and teeth; then throw my hair up into a high pony tail. It's frizzy from going to bed with it wet but I don't really care. Nothing is going to ruin my good mood today.

My run lasts longer than usual – probably getting close to an hour and a half – but I don't even find myself getting tired. Baby names, nursery ideas, first year birthdays, and etc. fill my head, floating around peacefully.

Like most of the running paths that don't go through the woods – since I'm still not allowed in there – lead to First Beach. So it's no surprise when end up walking on to the sandy shore. The beach is nearly empty except for a few people who are a little ways down the beach. After all, it's just barely half past eight.

As I inspect the others, I realize the people are Kim, Jared, Jillian and Embry. Normally those four aren't even out of bed at this time... Suddenly, I remember the news I have to tell Kim especially. I run over to her at full speed. If she hadn't already seen be, I'm pretty sure I would've knocked her over when I hugged her.

"Someone's in a good," Kim laughs, hugging me back.

I pull back and grin widely at her as I'm nearly bouncing in my spot. "Paul changed his mind," I squeal.

My words take a few seconds to click in her head but once she understands them, she impulsively pulls me into a tight hug. "Oh wow! That's awesome Ev!"

"I know!" We squeal and giggle and do our little happy dance for a while until everyone finally gives up trying to understand.

Jared asks, "Are you guys talking about what I think you're talking about?" although by the grin on his face, I can tell he already knows.

I nod, beaming. "Sure are!"

Jared laughs, pulling me in to a hug. "Should I wait a few months to say congratulations... or?"

I giggle. "Yeah, you'll have to wait a bit. But we're working on it."

"Great, now I know what Paul will be thinking about for the next few months on patrol..." he grumbles, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

"What are you guys talking about!" Embry exclaims. Both him and Jillian are still beyond confused which just makes me burst out laughing.

"Paul finally stopped being such a pussy and said he wants to be a daddy," Jared clarifies, smirking.

Jillian's face lights up and she also pulls me into a hug. "Oooh that's awesome Everlie! That's why you're so excited." Then she looks at me in mock seriousness. "You better not be pregnant right now though! I need a drinking buddy for the Fourth of July!"

"No," I laugh. "Don't worry." But at the same time, Kim exclaims, "Hey! I'm gonna be there too. Why can't I be your drinking buddy?"

"Because you puke after two drinks," Jill teases.

We all laugh and Kim blushes, knowing she's right. Kim is worse than me at holding down liquor which is actually very pathetic.

"Now Kim," Jared starts, wrapping his arms around her waist, "since Paul and Ev are gonna be making babies, I think it's fair that we start doing that too."

Kim rolls her eyes. "Keep dreaming, Jare."

I chuckle and pat Jared on the back. "I'll work on it bud. But, anyway, I have to go home and make sure Paul hasn't died of starvation or something. See you later!"

They call their goodbyes out and I head home. It may be harder to convince Kim than it was to convince Paul – and he took me almost half a year. Oh great.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It's been a couple days since I told Kim about Paul changing his mind about having a baby and I still haven't tried to talk her into having a baby for Jared yet. Luckily, I'm at her house right now getting ready to go to Port Angelos to celebrate July Fourth. I'm running out of time though because Jillian is going to be here soon to join us. And I can't bring the subject up with people around.

"So Kim, I've been thinking," I say casually.

She raises an eyebrow, looking up from sorting through her shoes. "Oh great. What about?"

"Well. You know, it would be pretty cool if we got pregnant around the same time. Then we'd have our kids at the same time and they could grow up together!" I add hopefully.

Kim just rolls her eyes and goes back to choosing which pair of shoes to wear tonight. "Yeah sure. Guess you're never gonna have kids, then."

I sigh, rolling over on her bed. "Come on! Why don't you want kids? They're adorable."

She snorts. "Yeah, when you don't have to deal with them all day." I frown at her until she continues, "Look Ev, I do want kids. And I'm going to have them; just not anytime soon. I love my job and I want to get in a higher position before I even consider kids."

I purse my lips, knowing she has a point. Working at a bank had many opportunities to get a higher job position and salary. You can't really get promoted from teaching except for higher level classes, I guess. But that's not really the same. "I guess, sorry. I promised Jared and Paul I'd at least try."

Kim snorts, shaking her head. "Gosh, he's almost as desperate as you to have a baby."

"Hey!" I protest, throwing one of her throw pillows at her. "That's so not true." I wink at her. "I was way worse."

"Yeah, you've got me there." Then she sighs. "It really sucks though, knowing that he wants one so badly right now and I just don't."

I shrug. Paul could probably sympathize better with her; I don't really know how she's feeling about this. I've never been in that position. "I'm sure he understands."

"Did you understand why Paul didn't want a baby?"

"Once he told me, but his reason was different than yours, and fixable."

"Before he told you, did you?"

I shrug. "Not really. I tried and I tried not to pester him about it but I guess I didn't understand. Or really want to." This probably just makes her feel worse, so I quickly add, "But you've told Jared your reason so I'm sure he understands and is just hoping you'll change your mind."

"Actually," she admits awkwardly, "I haven't told him."

I blink in surprise. "Why not? It's a pretty legitimate reason. You should really tell him. It might make him understand better."

Sighing, she nods. "Yeah. I probably should." Then she pulls herself off the ground and joins me on the bed. "But not tonight. Tonight's supposed to be fun so I'm not going to ruin that."

I smirk. "Your puking probably will anyway."

She sticks her tongue out at me. "Why am I friends with you?"

"Because a long time ago you decided to be nice to me and not completely fake so you have to live with the consequences." After she stops laughing, I suggest half-jokingly, "How about when I have my third kid, if you haven't already had one, you have to have one."

She seems to actually ponder over this which shocks me. I figured she would take it as a joke. Her answer surprises me greatly. "Okay, make sure you remind me."

"Uh, I will," I stumble, slightly confused by her mysterious expression. Does she think I won't ever have three kids of something? Obviously that's a possibility, but Kim's very level-headed and thinks things through most of the time. It makes no sense for her to agree to something like this.

Not that I'm complaining, or anything.

We hear the front door open and then Jillian's voice calls, "I'm here! Are you guys ready to get ready?" A few seconds later, she barges into the room with her dress and shoes in hand and a huge smiles planted on her face.

I laugh, pulling myself off the bed with a groan. "You're the one we've been waiting for."

We do our hair and makeup first before slipping into our dresses. Jillian's dress is pink with a sweetheart neckline and a corset-top. The black bottom ruffles out, dangerously short. Kim's is an itsy bitsy black leather strapless dress. Mine is a red sequined halter dress that falls to mid-thigh.

Once we're all ready, the boys end up coming in the house. They were at my house supposedly getting read. More like watching the game and then throwing on a shirt and khakis. I guess that's how guys get ready though.

After their usual compliments, we all go in our own trucks to Port Angelos. Since the guys can't get drunk, the whole designated driver thing never really matters. "I brought up the baby thing to Kim," I inform Paul as we're driving down the road.

"How'd she take it?"

I laugh, shrugging. "She's definitely not having one anytime soon. She has a pretty good reason, though. I made her promise though if I get pregnant with our third kid, she has to have a baby."

"_Third _kid?" Paul smirks, chuckling to himself. "We don't even have one yet."

"Well, yeah. But I doubt she would've agreed to one or two." Then I twist sideways in my seat and pout at him. "Does that mean you don't want three kids?"

He wraps his arm around my shoulders. "We can have as many as you want." Then he quickly catches himself. "But we're not having more than four."

"Well I would imagine not!"

"I'm not even sure if one will be able to fit out of you."

"Hey!" I exclaim, smacking him lightly. "That's not nice! It's not my fault I'm small."

"Sorry." He pecks my lips. "Will you forgive me?"

"Maybe." I shrug jokingly, propping my feet up on the dashboard. "So... what are we going to do about the truck?"

He sighs. "Well, I guess we're going to have to sell it and get a car. But we can wait until you're actually pregnant, right?"

I blink in surprise. He loves this truck; I expected him to at least fight a little for it. "Not necessarily." He raises an eyebrow, not getting what I meant. "We have a _bunch _of money in the bank from gym so it's not like we can only have one vehicle. Plus it'd be easier if we had two vehicles anyway."

"Ev, that's your money. I don't want you to pay for the whole thing."

I laugh, rolling my eyes. "Paul, we're married. It's our money."

He's about to say something but I raise my hand to stop him. "Are you really going out of your way to get rid of your truck? That's very un-Paul-like."

Smirking, he gives in. "Fine, but only 'cause I love my truck."

"More than me?" I pout childishly at him.

"Never."

We arrive in Port Angelos just after Jared and Kim and find a place with three parking spaces. Once Embry and Jill show up, we head to a restaurant to eat. It's packed but it surprisingly doesn't take us that long to get our food and then eat.

There's a club downtown that we usually go to when we go out. It's not the most packed one on the block but there's quite a few more people than we normally find here. Eventually, we find a table and sit down. The dance floor is flooded with people and I have a feeling if you tried you wouldn't be able to walk through it without being snatched.

"I think I'm going to wait to dance," I comment, eying the mass of people warily.

Kim nods but Jillian just smirks. "You two are never any fun until your piss ass drunk," she grumbles.

A waitress comes over to see if we want any drinks. Paul, Embry and Jared order a drink. Jillian orders some drink I've never heard of – which probably would get anybody drunk after just one – and Kim orders a cocktail.

When I order a Kahlua, the waitress smirks condescendingly. "I'll have to see ID, please."

The whole table bursts out laughing which makes my face flush an even brighter red. I'm older than Kim, Jill and Embry yet I still get carded. It's really annoying. Some people may like getting carded but after having it happen to you every time you order a drink, it gets old.

Rummaging through my purse, I find my driver's license. She eyes it before taking it and examining it to make sure it's not fake. Every freaking time. To make it worse, everyone is still laughing. Once she's convinced it isn't fake, she says awkwardly, "Sorry, you just don't look legal."

I shrug. "I'm used to it." As soon as she leaves to get our drinks, I sigh. "One day, I'm not going to get carded and it's going to be a very lovely day."

Paul smirks, pulling me into his side. "You're going to get carded until your thirty; don't fool yourself."

I lean against his chest, kissing his cheek. "Whatever, it just makes you look like a pedophile."

After our drinks come, I barely get a sip out of it before Jillian is dragging me to the dance floor. We aren't there long – mostly because some guys come over to flirt with us so Embry and Paul thankfully come over to get us.

We stay at the table for a while after that... which probably isn't such a good idea. By the time the guys want to go on the dance floor, Kim is already starting to feel sick, Jillian is completely wasted and I'm trying my best not to laugh my ass off at them. I haven't really drank anything since my Kahlua so I'm not really affected that much.

Paul and I start dancing. I lean my head back on his shoulder, stifling a laugh at Jill. She's probably the most amusing drunk ever. Embry's having a hard time containing her from running around, dancing with strangers, dancing on tables... and all that lovely stuff.

Reaching my arms back, I pull his head down to my down to my neck and grind into him harder. I hear him chuckle before he begins kissing and biting at my neck. Eventually I turn around, ripping his lips from my neck and kissing him.

He pulls me closer, shoving his tongue into my mouth. I struggle to continue kissing him and still keep grinding but I manage.

Several songs pass and I need to pull away. I'm really hot, thirsty and out of breath. Sighing, I take a deep breath. Paul takes my hand and leads me back to the table where Kim and Jared are sitting. She looks miserable which just makes me laugh.

"You really can't handle liquor," I tease, grabbing her water and taking a sip out of it.

She narrows her eyes at me before swatting and taking her drink back. "Shut up. You have no idea how much this hurts."

"Don't you dare complain about pain, Missy, I broke my freaking leg, wrist and sprained my ankle at the same time." Paul cringes but I ignore him; It was so long ago. "So don't complain about how much pain it is to drink two drinks," I joke.

She rolls her eyes, but it works and she laughs. "Fine. But as soon as you leave I'm going to complain again."

"Then you're going to have to wait a while. I'm tired." I glance at my watch and sigh; Jill will never leave us alone if we leave this early.

"She's so wasted she wouldn't even know if we left," Kim hints.

I smirk. "Embry would tell her the second she asked. He's not exactly loyal to us."

Paul orders up another drink. I do too. And a couple more as the hours go by. Surprisingly, Jillian finally wants to go home. When Paul and I are driving home, I sigh and lean across the cab onto his shoulder.

"I'm tired," I whine.

He smirks. "And drunk."

"I am not!" I protest, giggling.

"You may think you aren't but you really are, babe."

"If I'm drunk, you're drunk, too." I start kissing his neck which he doesn't object to. Until he starts getting distracted and he pulls over to the side of the highway. Sighing, he sets me in the passenger seat and buckles me up.

"Why don't you want me this much when you're sober?" he teases, pecking my lips. "Or just to tease me 'cause you're on your period."

I just giggle again, trying to pull him back over to me. I pout when I fail and he starts driving again. "You're a meany."

He smirks. "You're a cutie."

I glare, folding my arms over my chest. He just laughs.

We get home shortly after and he helps me out of the truck. "I can walk by myself; I'm not drunk."

Laughing, he let's go of me. "All right, you walk by yourself then."

I get two steps before I stumble. Luckily he hadn't gone too far away from me and catches me. He throws me over his shoulder, chuckling. "All right, honey, let's get you to bed before you kill yourself."

"Jerk!" I yell, squirming on his shoulder.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Is that everything?" the cashier at the grocery store in Forks asks in an emotionless voice.

I nod and she hands me the bag.

With even less emotion, she says, "Have a nice day."

"You too," I mutter back. They must be pretty desperate for employees if they hire people like her... I leave the store, avoiding the puddles in the parking lot. Despite the sunny weather we had earlier today, it's been raining for _all _of the past week.

It doesn't matter though, I'm still really excited. It's the middle of August and after waiting two weeks since my missed period, I finally decided to go buy another pregnancy test. Paul's been bugging me for the last two weeks to go get one but I wanted to wait just in case I do start my period.

I don't though so here I am. I had to get a few things ready for when school starts in a couple weeks so it's well past seven before I even had time to go to the store. Climbing into my 'new' car, I turn on the ignition. It's a little old, being a 2009 model but in La Push, having a new car is just strange. I smile, thinking back on how long it took us to decide.

"_Orange is a really ugly colour," Paul complains looking at the Toyota Yaris that I'm looking at. "And it's only a two door. It'd be too hard to put a car seat in the back."_

_I nod, but point to the – also orange – one beside it with four doors. "That one has four. It's the same thing."_

_"Well, it's your car," he admits shrugging. "But I can guarantee you I will never let you live down owning an orange car."_

_I roll my eyes but can't hold back a laugh. This has been the third car lot we've been to and I really want it to be the last. At this point, I'd rather buy the General Lee than have to go to yet another car lot. "Orange isn't exactly my favourite colour either but it's better than nothing."  
><em>

_Paul shrugs. "Wanna look around more then?"_

_I nod and we keep walking around the lot. We stop at full cab Ford Ranger – mostly because Paul has been eying it since we walked onto the lot. "I don't want a truck Paul."_

_He shrugs his arm around my shoulders. "But I could sell my truck and we could just use this one. It's baby-safe."_

_I roll my eyes, looking over the truck. It's a lot bigger than Paul's – which I already find hard to control. Shaking my head, I tell him, "No way. I don't like driving trucks. And besides, that would still leave us with the problem of one vehicle. What if you have to go to work and I have to take the baby to an appointment or something?"_

"_I can walk to work," he says before sighing in defeat. "Okay, fine. You win. Let's look at something else."_

_I chuckles, linking my arm in his. "Don't look so sad. You get to keep your beloved truck."_

_The next car that I see that I like is a Chevy Cruz. Only, once we get to it, I notice it's only a two door. "Why is there so many two doors?" I complain. "Who needs a two door? They're so freaking pointless."_

_Paul just laughs and we keep walking. "They look sporty and cool. You only think that way because you're a girl."_

"_They're impractical," I retort, grinning. "If there's someone in the back seat that has to get out then someone in the front will have to get out too."_

_He shrugs. "Or they could climb through the middle and then over top of one of the people and out the door. Very simple."_

_I snort. "'Cause that's practical."_

_We look at a couple other cars before we find a 2009 silver Toyota Corolla. It fits all our needs and after some discussion with the sales guy, the car is ours._

Paul really dislikes the car because he's so big and doesn't fit well in cars but I love it. Letting my eyes flutter to the rear-view mirror, imagining what it will look like with a car seat and a little baby in the back seat. I can't help but giggle even though I don't even know if I'm pregnant yet.

I have a good feeling that I am, though. We've been following every possible step and if I'm not, well I'm going to be extremely mad.

And Paul will be mad that he has to go through another month of those procedures.

_I'm laying in bed, cuddling up in my blankets to try and block out the light. After a few minutes of me groaning and rolling away from it, Paul finally turns it off. I hear shuffling before his warm body joins me, pulling away my massive pile of blankets and holding me closely against him._

_He begins to kiss my neck and then runs his hand down my stomach until he reaches a place a little more south. He gropes making me moan. Quickly I bat him away, laughing. "Stop."_

_He pouts, rolling me over so I'm facing him. "But I don't want to." Then he winks. "And I can smell ya, Ev, you don't want to either."_

"_That's beside the point," I giggle. "You know how it works. We had sex last night."_

_He groans, still pouting. "_Why _does it have to be every second night again?"_

_"Because, you have a better chance of getting pregnant. Something about sperm that I didn't really catch but it's true." I peck his lips. "Stop pouting; you agreed to this."_

_He sighs, resting his head on top of mine. "I know, but it still sucks. And can't we just break it this one time? It won't hurt that much. Probably."_

_I shake me head. "Nope," I say. "Then you will always use that excuse and you'll get away with it and we'll never have a baby."_

_"I heard that you're more likely to get pregnant if you're drunk. Why don't you just get really drunk and let me take advantage of you?" he growls sexily in my ear which makes me shiver slightly._

"_I don't think that's actually true," I admit. "And I'm really annoying when I'm drunk."_

_"You're never annoying," he assures me. "And I think you're cute when you're drunk."_

"_You think I'm cute when I'm anything."_

_"Exactly."_

_"So then why do you want me drunk?"  
><em>

"_Because you'll have sex with me if you're drunk."_

_I roll my eyes, snorting. "You, Paul, will never change."_

_He grins playfully at me. "What? Me being super horny just enhances your chances of becoming pregnant."_

"_Medical studies suggest otherwise."_

_He sighs in defeat. "I'm not getting laid tonight am I?"_

"_Nope," I cheer. "Sorry."_

_He pulls me on top of him, his body shaking from his laughter. "You better actually get pregnant after all of this."_

_I smile into his chest. "I hope so."_

"_Me too."_

When I pull into our driveway, Paul's truck surprisingly isn't here. It's strange because he was here when I left. Grabbing the bag, I walk into the house. "Paul!" I call, wondering if one of the guys had to borrow his truck.

I don't see him anywhere; I notice a note sitting on the kitchen counter. I cross my fingers, hoping it's nothing bad.

_Hey Jake called me. He needed someone to do a couple cars at the shop but it shouldn't take that long. I might be back before you get back... anyway, don't wait up ;) Love you_

Setting the note down, I take the test out of the box. He did know I went to get a pregnancy test – I think anyway – so maybe he won't mind if I take it. It's not like I'm going to lie about the answer... And after waiting two weeks, I don't really want to wait any longer.

Taking his 'don't wait up' as a go for it, I head to the bathroom. I tap my fingers on the counter as I remember what happened last time. I was a mess when I found out I wasn't pregnant. What if I'm not this time? Can I handle it? A wave of doubt makes me want to wait for Paul but at the same time, I really want to know.

So I take the risk, and do the test.

The next few minutes are the longest of my lifetime so far. Longer than waiting for the Olympics results, longer than waiting for medical staff after my injury, longer than waiting to see if I got accepted into the school I wanted to go to, longer than walking down the aisle and praying I don't fall at my wedding, longer than walking across the stage at graduation. Longer than anything.

But eventually, it does pass. I check the clock one last time; yup, the two minutes did pass. Taking a deep breath, I glance down at the test.

My breathing just stops as I stare at it. Then, a huge smile breaks across my face. "Yes!" I whisper happily, jumping around excitedly. I'm pregnant!

Not even a few seconds later, I hear the door open. "Hey, Ev, you in here?" he calls.

Dropping the test, I fly out to the front door. I don't pay attention to much; I just jump at him. He catches me and I wrap my arms around his neck tightly, beaming. "Guess what?" I whisper.

He pulls his head back slightly, examining my face. "You're pregnant?"

I nod and before I can say anything he crushes me into a bear hug, spinning me in circles. "That's amazing."

I giggle as he starts kissing me gently, setting me onto the ground. "I know!" Reaching back up for him, I kiss him with everything I have. I can honestly say I've never been this happy. We kiss for a while until I hear someone clear their throat.

Glancing up, I see Jake, Embry, Jared and Quil staring at us awkwardly. I blush quickly. Despite knowing them all these years, it's still awkward to be making our with Paul in front of them.

"Get a room, you two," Quil sneers jokingly.

I just laugh, cuddling into Paul's chest.

Paul flips him off, holding me like I'm about to break and kissing my forehead. That sets Jared off and his breaks out into a huge grin. "Are you what I think you are?" he demands.

I giggle, smiling even wider somehow, but I'm too giddy too get the words out of my mouth or nod. Luckily, Paul's brain is still working and he nods. "Yeah."

Jared pulls me out of Paul's grasp and hugs me. Paul mutters something along the lines of, "Be careful," which makes me laugh considering he just gave me a huge bear hug. Of course, I don't point that out; he'd probably feel bad.

"Calm down, Paul, I'm not going to break."

Since Embry, Quil and Jake are far from the smartest people in the world, they still haven't caught on. Finally, Embry says, "Wait a minute. Are you pregnant?"

I giggle again, nodding. Paul rolls his eyes. "You three are really the slowest people I know."

They ignore him and hug me in turn, saying congratulations. "Wow," Jake says, smirking, "Everlie fat. I never thought I'd see the day."

"Don't jinx it Jake or else it might not happen!" I joke, smiling.

They all roll their eyes. "You are so freaking weird." Paul chuckles.

"If you weighed less than a hundred pounds, you would want to be fatter too," I banter.

"If _I _was under one hundred pounds, there would be a serious problem," Paul says; then smirking at the guys, says, "Now leave. We have to celebrate."

"Paul!" I exclaim. "Don't be rude."

"Nah, we understand, Ev." Jake laughs as they all pile out the door. "Congrats!"

Once they leave, we celebrate.

**:) Okay, so I already have the gender picked – which you guys aren't allowed to know yet ;) – but if you have any name suggestions I'd love to hear them :) You'll just have to put both genders for now. Thanks for reading :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for reviewing everyone :) So to pick the name I'm just going to put all the ones you guys suggested in a hat and pick one out :P So if you have any other suggestions, please tell me now :)**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 11

After the original giddiness of being pregnant begins to subside – not really but I have to start thinking logically again eventually – I finish getting everything ready for the start of the school year. My first thought is that my boss won't be too thrilled about me being pregnant and give someone else my job. Luckily no one wants to teach at La Push High so they're really under-staffed which is probably part of the reason she doesn't

She congratulates me and says that we can work something out for the last month of school which will probably be when the baby is born. Today's the first day of school and although all I'll really be doing is explaining the curriculum and stuff, I'm really nervous. Everyone I went to school with is graduated now – except for the really stupid people but I checked my class list and none of them are in my classes. But since it's La Push, I know or know of everyone in my classes.

Jared's little sister Jocelyn is in my Calculus class, actually. I've only met her a few times, though, so I doubt she remembers me.

I have four classes to teach and one prep period for marking and stuff. This is pretty great considering besides student teaching I've never had a teaching job before and I already have one full time. The joys of living in a very small town.

The four classes are: Algebra I, Algebra II, Trigonometry and Calculus. The Algebras will probably be the easiest but from the curriculum and my own experiences in high school Trig and Calc, there is going to be a lot of complaining.

After school today, at five-thirty, I have my first doctor's appointment at the hospital in Forks. There's a couple ob/gyns there and my mom helped me pick which one we should go to. So after I leave the school this afternoon, Paul and I are going to go.

Oh, and to no one's surprise, my dad wasn't too pleased when we announced the pregnancy. My mom was though; she still is. She was almost as excited as me. Almost.

It's quarter to nine when some students from my first class start to arrive. There's only twelve kids in this class and I know most of them from around. Looking at the list again, I notice that Brady's little brother is in this class.

Him and his brother aren't much alike. From what I know of Blayne, he's really shy and quiet. In all the times I've seen him, he's spoken only a handful of words. When the bell rings at nine, there's eleven people in the class. During the the announcements, a girl I guess is named Kaela walks in looking flustered.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and tell her to take a seat. It's the first day, giving a tardy is just asking for everyone to hate me. Once they're done the announcements, I take attendance – mostly to learn where everyone sits. It's a little harder than I thought but by the end of class, I think I've got it.

The bells rings and they leave. They don't bolt out of class though so I don't feel like I did a terrible job. My next class, Trigonometry, has a really long curriculum so after I go over it, I decide to start some work. No one likes this idea. All eighteen kids complain.

Once I start the notes and examples up on the SmartBoard, everyone stops complaining and just looks terrified. I can't blame them. When I first saw the words "sinusoidal functions", I felt like my brain was about to explode.

It's not really that difficult though and as I go over it, some start to get it. And then there's the others who are either not paying attention or in need of a lot more examples. The bell rings though so they'll have to get them tomorrow.

My prep period is the one before lunch so I mostly just work on finding and making worksheets for the classes. It's a lot of work since I have to actually do them to get the answers for the bottom of the sheet and then check to make sure they're right.

At lunch I go to the teacher's lounge but it's pretty awkward considering all the teachers that I had while I went here all still work here. They're nice though. Miss Price, my old Algebra teacher who is now Mrs. Belyea. sits beside me at the table. "Hey Everlie."

"Hi," I respond, not really feeling comfortable calling her by her first name. "How are you?"

"Great! How have you been?" she asks genuinely.

I smile. "Really great." We start chatting and eventually the awkwardness fades away. Of course she knows Paul and I are still together – everyone knows everything about everyone in La Push – and she asks how I like married life. After answering, I ask her the same thing.

Our conversation continues throughout lunch. "So I hear you're expecting?"

I blush, nodding. "Yup. Man news sure travels fast around here."

She just laughs. "Well congratulations! And yeah. It's funny, no matter how long you live here, it still shocks you when it happens to you."

"Thanks and yeah, it's pretty weird sometimes. Anyway, I better get going. I'll see you around."

My Calculus class is next. When Jared's sister walks in, she smiles at me; however, I don't know if it's because she remembers me or if she's just sucking up. I guess she's a really big teacher's pet. Not that that bothers me; I'm a total goody goody, too.

Just like Trigonometry, everyone complains when we start doing work. I just laugh it off good-naturedly and try not to overload them with too much information. Although honestly, I don't know why they expected anything else. There's only eleven kids in the class for a reason. The only people who take this class are those who need it for university – or people who really love math – so there's no reason why they _shouldn't _expect work.

If they think this is a lot, they're going to hate me once we get this semester going...

I have a feeling my last class will be my only class that will drive me insane. They're mostly grade tens – also known as the grade of excuses. It's only the first day and I didn't even give them much work but I guarantee I'll get a "my dog ate my homework" excuse tomorrow. There's only fifteen kids though, and it's only a few who are annoying so I guess I'm lucky.

School is over at three-thirty so I have to stay for an hour before I can leave. At four-thirty, I drive home. Paul got off at hour and is already home. "Hey, sweetie, how was your first day?"

I laugh, putting my bag onto the recliner and joining him into the kitchen. "Good. I didn't have any students in my classes that are like you so it should be a splendid year."

He chuckles. "Oh really? Are you saying you wouldn't want me in your class?"

I roll my eyes. "Uh, no!" He pretends to be offended, making me laugh. "Dude, you never paid attention in class, you never did your work and you never studied. You're like a teacher's worst nightmare."

"So I'm in your dreams and your nightmares?" He smirks cockily. "That makes me pretty awesome."

Snorting, I kiss his lips. "Alright, let's head to Forks before we're late – or your head blows up from all that air in it." Placing his hand in mine, we head out to his truck. Even though I have my car, wherever we go somewhere, we take his truck. I don't think he's ever going to like my car. Too bad; once the baby comes he'll have to go in it when we go places.

"Are you excited?" I ask him as we're driving down the highway.

"A little," he admits, "but I'm mostly nervous. What even happens? You already got the blood work saying you're pregnant done so what can they do?"

I laugh. "A lot. Tell us how far along I am and when the due date will approximately. And they ask you a bunch of family questions to make sure they know of any possible complications that could happen."

Paul glances at me nervously. "Like what?"

I shrug. "Like if you were born premature or if miscarriages are common in your family. If I have any medical problems. Stuff like that."

"Will you back affect you in anyway?" he asks with concern, and interest.

"No. Not the pregnancy at least. It'll probably hurt a lot more than normal pregnancies do, though, since it's already screwed up."

He frowns. "But I don't want you to hurt."

"Well I am going to have to give birth to this baby and that's going to hurt like hell." His face twists in pain making me laugh. I kiss his cheek. "Don't worry baby, it'll be worth it." I wink at him. "But you'll have to get over your hatred of seeing me in pain because you're going to be with me in that room."

He chuckles, draping his arm around me. "Of course I will. I'll probably just die of pain in the process."

I smirk. "Okay, drama queen, I'm the one who's actually having the baby."

"Well if I could have a baby, we probably wouldn't be together."

I nod. "That's a good point you have there."

Waiting for the ob/gyn to see us takes a lot longer than it does to see most other doctors. Apparently there's a lot of pregnant people in the area. We register at the secretary and then take a seat in the waiting room. I get a long of weird looks when I did down which I don't understand. I raise an eyebrow at Paul who just shrugs.

I pull out my phone even though I know there's no messages on it. Honestly, who doesn't do that when they're being stared at awkwardly. Eventually, the glances I keep getting get annoying; it's not like I'm a teenager or something... Oh.

Instantly I put my phone away and recognize the glances. All the people here are from small towns – whether it be Forks, La Push or another surrounding town – and teen pregnancies are frowned upon around here. I sigh, looking up at Paul.

He catches me staring and winks. The smirk on his face tells me he knows why they're looking at us scornfully which doesn't seem to bother him. But jokes from the past couple months about me looking like a teenager and Paul looking in his mid twenties, aren't really making me feel comfortable here.

When the doctor finally calls my name, I'm eager to get out of that room. With Paul on my heels, I scurry after the nurse and into the room. A few minutes later, the doctor comes in. She greets herself; we greet her.

Like expected, she asks us many questions on our family history. Do miscarriages happen often in your families? No. Have there been twins or multiples that you know of in the last three generations? Never. Premature? Paul says no, but I was born a month early. The questions go on for awhile and our answers give me some relief. Our family histories do not have many previous or continual complications.

Once she's finished with her questions, she runs a few tests to make sure everything is okay. We've been there for about an hour when she announces we're almost finished.

"You're about six weeks pregnant," she tells us. "And if everything goes according to plan, your due date should be around April tenth." She shows us some paper work and the results of the vaginal ultrasound and the other tests. "Your due date will likely fluctuate as you get further along so we will be able to pinpoint it better then."

She tells us a bit more information and then we're done. We thank her, go out to pay the bill and then leave the hospital. "That went well," Paul says, opening the truck door for me.

I nod, still excited. Things did go well – really well. "Except for in the waiting room," I joke.

Paul laughs, rubbing my shoulder gently as he pulls out of the parking lot. "It's not your fault you look like you're twelve."

I roll my eyes but still have a smile on my face. "Shut up. You were getting dirty looks too."

"Ah yes, because I love having hormonal women looking at me like I'm a twenty-five year old pedophile who knocked up a fifteen year old girl."

I giggle, linking his free hand in mine. "Oh well, half their babies are probably all mistakes."

Paul sort of gapes at me before bursting into laughter. "I cannot believe _you _just said that. The same girl who yells at me for saying even the slightest mean thing to anybody."

I blush but pout up at him. "They were mean first!"

He chuckles. "So what do you want to eat?"

"Well, from _all_ the choices we have in Forks," I say sarcastically, "let's go to that diner place. I want one of their hamburgers."

"Really? You hate those hamburgers."

"I know." I frown. Normally just the thought of those things makes me want to vomit. "But I really want one. I probably won't finish it... Ooh, maybe I can get extra pickles. They have really good pickles."

Leaning across the cab as he stops at a red light, he pecks my lips. "Pregnant women are crazy."

I giggle. "Get used to it."

He grins. "Guess I'll have to."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

On Saturday, after the first week of school, the pack is meeting for a bonfire. It's going to be one of the last ones us imprints actually enjoy – namely, the last time it won't be freezing cold. Paul can keep me warm but when he's not right next to me, it goes from toasty to frosty instantly.

I'm sitting on a log right now; everyone is over getting food. My insane food cravings from my first couple weeks of pregnancy has past and now I'm into the morning sickness phase. It's horrible. It's not just in the morning and it normally happens while I'm teaching and can't leave.

Despite Paul's attempts to understand and be comforting, he's not much use. Especially since his stomach won't allow him to believe the thought of food could ever make someone sick. I lean forward onto my elbows. Someone sits beside me and although at first I think it's Paul, I feel no heat radiating from them so I realize quickly it's not.

Looking up, I see Emily sitting beside me. She's set her food down beside her but I notice she isn't appalled at the sight of it. She's four months pregnant – well, at least I know it goes away eventually. "Hey, how ya holding up?" she asks gently.

I smile, biting back a laugh. "I guess I've been better."

She laughs. "Still want to be pregnant?"

I swat at her. "Of course. I just wish food didn't make me sick. I like food; it sucks not eating it."

Shooting me a sympathetic look as Paul comes back over, she gets up and heads back towards Sam. "Don't worry; it'll go away. But I can't guarantee worse things won't come."

I laugh and lean into Paul's shoulder, keeping his plate of food out of my line of sight. "Yay," I say sarcastically.

Kim laughs from her place at Jared's lap. "Another reason I don't want to be pregnant." Jared pouts, making most of the guys around the fire laugh or snort.

"It's not that bad," I lie reassuringly.

She rolls her eyes. "You're a horrible liar, Ev, so you're really just confirming my reasons even more." Okay, I guess it wasn't that assuring.

"Whatever, Baby Hater." I stick my tongue out at her childishly and I'm not surprised when she flips me off.

"Settle down, children," Paul teases, kissing my temple lightly before going back to eating his food. Instantly my stomach churns as I catch sight of it. My face contorts, something that Paul doesn't miss. He frowns. "Do you want me to eat over there?"

"No," I swallow the acid at the back of my throat. "I'm fine." He sends me an "are you sure?" look but I just nod. "If you leave, I'll freeze."

Chuckling, he places his plate on the log on his other side and pulls me into his side. "It's not even cold out yet, silly."

I roll my eyes. "It's _freezing _out."

He rolls his eyes dramatically, mocking me.

I lean forward so I can see Kim and Emily. "You guys are cold, right?"

Kim shrugs – probably since she's completely buried in Jared's embrace – but Emily nods which makes Sam pull her closer to him. Sometimes I wonder how people who aren't with werewolves are able to survive this type of weather.

After the guys are done pigging out on the revolting food, Billy starts the legends. Five years later and it's still the same way it was on the first bonfire I went to. Glancing around the fire while listening to the stories, I notice a girl I've never seen before. She's looks about eighteen but I of all people know that doesn't mean much.

She's Quileute by the looks of it with tan skinned, long black hair, big brown eyes and rosy cheeks that's most-likely from the weather. Unlike the rest of us, she's not curled up into anyone and I wonder if she's one of the guys' sisters.

"Who's she?" I whisper, nudging Paul and nodding towards the girl.

Glancing over lazily, he shrugs. "She's Brady's imprint."

This perks me up. Since when did Brady have an imprint? "He imprinted?"

Paul nods. "Yeah, took him fucking long enough."

I shove him playfully. "Stop swearing, jerk."

"Wyatt's not around," he whispers back, smirking.

"So? There's two fetuses," I inform him smiling while I cradle my stomach with my two hands. I'm only seven weeks but there is the tiniest trace of a bump on my belly. Initially this worried me since Emily was at least fifteen weeks before she started showing even a little, but my doctor warned us that since I'm so small to begin with I'll likely begin showing early.

He chuckles, placing his hands on my stomach tenderly and whispering in my ear. "Well, I don't think he can hear us yet."

"_He_?" I say back quietly. "Since when are we having a boy?"

He smirks. "It's gonna happen."

I shake my head, resting my head on his chest. "Well, I think it's going to be a girl."

"Too bad. You're going to be upset when you realize I'm right and you're wrong."

"All right," I smirk, "keep thinking that, babe."

After Billy finishes with the legends, we don't stick around like usual. I'm tired and kind of hungry. I guess I'll have to have crackers and ginger ale... again. We drive home and even though it's an extremely short drive, I manage to almost fall asleep.

I close my eyes, knowing that if I at least pretend to be asleep Paul will carry me in and I won't have to move. However, I actually do end up falling asleep. It can't be too much later but when I do wake up, I'm on our bed with crackers, pickles and apple juice sitting on the bedside table.

I love my husband.

I eat the food quickly, feeling how hungry I am. I'm taking the last gulp of apple juice when Paul comes in clad in boxers. "Hey sleepyhead."

I smile, putting the glass down. "Hey. Thanks for bringing me in."

He lays down on his side of the bed, smirking cockily. "I'm such a great husband," he jokes.

Rolling my eyes, I pull myself into his open arms. "You are. I love you."

He wraps his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. "I love you too. How are ya feeling?"

"Good. I'm not hungry anymore and I also don't feel like puking." He chuckles, reaching over to turn off the lamp. "So I've been thinking."

"Uh oh," he teases. "What about?"

"Well, I know it's early and all but we should probably start thinking of some names for the baby. I mean, we don't know the gender but it'd be good for brainstorming."

He groans, half jokingly. Naming the baby isn't something he's looking forward to, I know. But I'd feel bad if I came up with the name by myself. "How about this: _when _it's a boy," even in the dark, I know there's a teasing smirk on his face, "we name it Paul Jr. and if it happens to be a girl, we'll name it Everlie Jr."

I roll my eyes. "No way in hell is that happening."

He chuckles. "And why not?"

"First of all, our kid deserves more thought put into its name than that. Plus, do you know how confusing it would be if I had to clarify what Paul I meant every time I went to talk to one of you? And Everlie is the stupidest name in the world. It's not even spelled right! Also, the same thing applies to the whole two people in the same house with the same name thing."

Still chuckling, he agrees. "Okay, you have a point. Although I think Everlie is a beautiful name. So where do you want to start?"

I shrug. "I say a name, you say what you think of it and vice-versa?"

"Sure, you go first."

I sigh. Every girl at some point in her life thinks up what name's she thinks she is going to name her baby, but when it comes time to say it out loud, it's a different story. "Well, I like the name Lana. For a girl."

Paul ponders over it. "It sounds okay, I guess. But it spells 'anal' backwards. We can't exactly name a kid that! It would get tormented."

Taking in his words, I realize he's right. I've liked this name for like three years, though, and I've never noticed that. "Oh, come on. Only a perv would notice that."

He snorts. "Thanks babe."

Smirking, I peck his lips. "You know it's true. Okay, I get it, you don't like it. Your name."

"Rhyan for a girl."

"Rhyan!" I exclaim. "You think a kid would get bullied for having a name with a sexual innuendo that no one in their right mind would notice but you don't think she'd get made fun of for having a boys name?"

"It's a girls name, too," he says defensively.

"Doesn't feel to good to have the name you picked trashed now does it?' I joke.

"Okay. I'm sorry I made fun of your name. But I at least said _something _nice about it."

"Elena?"

He shrugs. "It's okay, kind of old fashioned. Allie?"

I purse my lips. "That's kind of a nickname. Plus it's really small townie."

He laughs. "We live in La Push."

"So? That doesn't mean our baby has to be subjected to small town names. Anyway, Felicity?"

"I would never be able to spell it. Mara?"

"Bitter."

"Huh?"

"It means bitter. No way."

He chuckles, nuzzling my neck with his nose. "Since we're never going to decide on a girl's name and we're obviously going to have a boy, why don't we talk about boy names."

I snort. "Okay, but you're really pushing this boy thing. You go first."

"Liam?"

"It's all right. I won't say no just yet. Aidan?"

"Um... I like it, but it's also like one of the most used names ever so... I don't know yet." He thinks hard, trying to think of another name. "Xavier?"

"Too European. Parker?"

"Wow. How it that even a name?" he jokes. "Jordan?"

"I like that better as a girl name."

"Yet you don't like Rhyan?" he interrupts.

I laugh. "Exactly. Chace?"

"As in that Gossip Girl guy you like so much? No way in hell. Mason?"

"That's more of a last name and it sounds funny with Walker. It's okay though. Ryder?"

"What's with you and sexual innuendos? Ryder. Ride her."

I burst out laughing. "Oh my god. How do you even notice these things!"

He chuckles. "It's a gift."

"You know, it's a good thing I'm less than two months pregnant because we're never going to be able to pick a name."

Paul cuddles into me, still chuckling. "I think this is supposed to be difficult. I'm sure we'll find a name we both like."

"And with our luck, we'll agree on one name and then end up having the other gender."

"Most likely."

I yawn, resting my head down on the cold pillow. "I'm gonna go to sleep now. Night, baby."

"Good night, love," he mumbles, also sleepily.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Emily happened to be right about the morning sickness going away and my normal appetite comes back, with the occasional craving. The sad thing is, due to my small stature, at fourteen weeks pregnant, I look as pregnant as Emily who is ten weeks ahead of me.

At first it bothered me considering all my students now know I'm pregnant and people who don't know me or my age look at me disapprovingly, but I know that in reality my belly isn't any bigger than it should be. It just looks it.

However, since I've started getting a bigger belly, my back has been _killing _me. I got our ob/gyn to check it out just to make sure nothing is going wrong. She told me what I expected: it didn't affect the baby in any way but because of my bulging disks, I'm going to experience a lot of uncomfortable back pain. Especially during the last few months of pregnancy.

Considering I'm just over three months pregnant and not that close to the end, this isn't really good news. But as long as the baby is healthy, I can handle some back pain. At least that's what I tell myself every time the pain strikes.

There is an upside to the whole pregnancy thing though – besides having a baby of course. It's Halloween and I don't have to go out with Kim and Jill dressed like a whore. Despite, Kim getting me to dress in one of her stupid costumes and go out every Halloween since we met, I still hate it as much as I did the first time around.

Luckily, tonight I'm just going to sit home with Paul and pass out candy. I told him he could still go hang out with the guys and didn't have to stay home and be bored just because I didn't want to go. He said he didn't mind, though. Plus, Paige's friend asked her to go with her so for the first time we didn't have to escort the little munchkin around. The little munchkin that isn't too happy that we're having a baby.

Apparently she's really jealous which I just think is too adorable.

A few minutes before five, Sam and Emily bring Wyatt around. They took him out last year but this is really the first year that he actually understands what's going on. And gets to eat some of his candy before his dad eats it all.

"Hey Wyatt!" I coo, taking in his costume. He's a monkey. "That's a cute costume!"

He giggles. "I'm a money!"

I smirk, trying not to laugh at his wording. "Well. You're a very cute money. But what do you have to say to get candy?"

His face lights up and he trills, "Twick or tweet!"

Chuckling, I give him his candy which he in return gives me a big thank you. I turn back to Emily, Sam and Paul who've been talking since Emily and Sam walking into the door. The sudden motion – standing up and turning around at the same time – makes a sharp pain shoot through my back. I try to ignore it, knowing it will only get worse as time goes by.

They don't seem to notice, and Emily tells me cheerfully, "We've been to like four houses and you're the only one he actually hasn't hidden behind my leg for."

I laugh; even though he's very energetic and out going around the pack, he's really shy around strangers. I guess that isn't exactly a bad thing. "At least he doesn't like talking to strangers."

"Yeah, I guess that's a good way to look at it." She nods.

They leave and not too long afterward the trick-or-treaters start to pick up.

Like usual, there's a flood of little kids at five, a swarm of elementary kids at six and seven, and then a few stray high schoolers between eight and nine that are really too old for this. I still give them candy, though, figuring that if had liked candy at that age, I would have done the same things.

When I get some of my students, I tease them mercilessly. A few of them come back with their own teasing but a lot are too shy and just laugh awkwardly. I feel bad and give them the rest of my candy. Who knows, maybe they'll be nice and actually do the assignment I'd given them for the weekend.

Doubtful.

At around nine-thirty, Paul and I are cuddled on the couch, watching the Halloween Town movies that are on Disney. They're really old now and I've seen them a thousand times but I still love watching them. And making fun of Paul for liking Sara Paxton in the fourth one.

"So has Paul told you have Emily's having yet?" I ask casually. Since Emily's twenty-four weeks along, they found out about four weeks ago what they were having. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who doesn't know in the whole pack.

Emily and I made a pact that we would wait until I found out what I was having and then tell each other at the same time. At first it sounded like a good idea, until I realized that meant I'd have to wait ten weeks before I find out. With everyone already knowing and also knowing that they can't tell me.

Just six more weeks to go...

"Yeah, he has," he admits. His smirk tells me he's not going to tell me, but I try anyway.

"And?" I prompt.

Rolling his eyes, he rests his head on top of mine. "You know I can't tell you."

"You couldn't tell me she was pregnant either but you did!"

"And you went and told Emily that I told you. I can't risk that again," I adds with a teasing grin.

I glare at him but it quickly turns into a pout. "Come on, Pauly. I promise I won't tell anybody!"

Chuckling, he lays down on the couch, pulling me on top of him. Ever since I became pregnant, I'm rarely on the bottom. Paul says it's because he doesn't want to risk hurting me or the baby but I'm certain he sees the other advantages.

I pull his face back up to mine a bit and kiss him. After a while he bites my bottom lip greedily, making me laugh and allow him entrance. We make out on the couch for awhile. I can see Paul is getting apprehensive, wanting to already be in the bedroom.

Laughing, I pull back. "Come on, let's go."

He grins devilishly before carefully sweeping me up and taking me to the bedroom. I think you know how it goes from there.

…

I wake up the next morning, my back still buzzing slightly in pain. It's not as bad as it was last night and I'm sure eventually this type of pain will feel like nothing.

I sit up slowly and stretch but don't get far before Paul's pulled me back against his chest. "You're not going anywhere," he murmurs sleepily. "Stay in bed with me."

I chuckle and wriggle out of his grasp. Once I'm out of bed, I'm immediately hit with a chill and kind of wish I'd followed his advice. "But I wanna read my book."

Without opening them, he somehow manages to roll his eyes. "Why? Just watch the movies."

"How about you go back to bed and when you get up I'll cook you breakfast if you let me read my book for a while."

He smirks, but looks extremely tired. If he doesn't agree, I'll probably have to go back to bed just to ensure he gets some sleep. "But what if the food poisons me?"

I throw a pair of rolled up socks at him. My cooking isn't that bad, honest. "I'll try super hard to make it taste good."

"Fine," he grumbles, smiling though. "But if it's bad then I'm going to burn your book."

"Then I'll just have to finish it before you get up," I joke, grabbing my book and scurrying out to the couch.

The Hunger Games. After ignoring its phenomenon for the past few years, I finally decide to give it a chance. All the movies are out now and done with, yet still people keep talking about them.

I'm just starting the third part of book one and I have to admit, I realize why everyone likes them. It's really hard to put down and if I had the choice, I'd be in bed all day reading the three of them.

Too bad I don't.

Paul comes out about ten minutes after I finish the book. Sighing, I set it on the coffee table and head to the kitchen.

"You can finish it, babe. I can wait," he says, leaning against the counter. I can tell by the way he's eying the uncooked bacon, though, that he probably can't wait.

"I actually finished it a couple minutes ago. Oh my God Paul! It's so sad!" I go off on a rant – while I cook – about what happened and how I really liked Peeta even though I feel bad about that because I really like Gale. And on and on and on about everything else.

I'm done cooking the food before I'm done my rant but I decide to stop anyway.

Paul smirks when I'm finished. He takes the overflowing plate of food I offer him. "Thanks." After he gets a few mouthfuls in, he decides to speak. "I take that as you really liked it."

I nod. "Yeah, it was awesome. I can't wait to read the second one."

He chuckles. "I never should have gotten you those books."

"Uh, yeah you should have!" I exclaim, finishing off the little bit of food that was on my plate to begin with. I groan as I stand up. I'm going to die once I'm actually really pregnant... "I have to mark some stuff." Placing my dishes in the sink, I grab my bag with the tests I have to mark. Three classes worth of tests and one class worth of assignments. Ah, the joys of being a teacher.

While I'm marking and Paul's still eating away, he asks, "So when do you think you're going to take off work?"

I shrug, I haven't really thought of it that much. I love teaching and my back doesn't really bother me as much when I'm at work since I'm doing something and focused. Probably as long as I can. "I don't know, maybe March? If I can handle it anyway."

He nods, looking over me warily. "Just don't work too hard."

I sigh, stroking underneath his eyes gently. The black marks are still there and I know he's been working harder lately than I have. Or at least worrying enough to make him even more tired. "Well you have to stop worrying. It makes you too tired – especially with work and patrol."

He rolls his eyes, but pecks my forehead gently. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"I'm always going to worry about you so you're just wasting your breath." I smile lazily, going back to marking. Some are really easy to mark since half the answers are left out which annoys me. I've seen the work these kids can do and I know they could've answered those questions. Others are more fulfilling though. One girl gets one hundred percent.

Glancing at the name, I realize it's Jared's sister. "Well, Jocelyn clearly doesn't get her brains from her brother."

Paul chuckles. "What do you mean?" I nod at the mark written on top of the page. He smirks. "That's for sure. Jared was lucky enough to get half of that."

I swat at him playfully. "Good one to talk. You barely graduated."

He sticks his tongue out at me. "Whatever, Mrs. Smarty pants."

Shaking my head with a smile, I go back to marking.

"Are you marking all of that today?"

I shrug. "Probably."

"Why? It's not like you have a deadline. The tests weren't even done that long ago."

Again, I shrug. "I always hated it when teachers took forever to give us back our stuff so I don't want to do that."

"Oh yeah, you hated it so much in your one year of public school," he teases.

"Screw you."

"You're welcome to."

I snort. Someone's horny... again. "Sorry, babe, but I don't want to die of back pain so I'll have to pass up on that offer."

He frowns in concern before the sentence is even completely out of my mouth. "You get back pain when we have sex? Why didn't you say something? If you would've told me, we wouldn't have done anything."

"Paul, it's not really from the sex. I get it anyway, it just hurts more afterward. But I was better this morning so it's no big deal. Besides, you'd be pouting like a baby all week if we didn't have sex."

He shakes his head in defense. "Not if it was because it was hurting you."

This makes me burst out laughing. I have no idea why but eventually I'm laughing so hard I'm crying. Paul kind of just stares at me like I'm insane and eventually when the laughing stops and the crying doesn't, he wraps his arms around me. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he demands frantically.

I nod, then shake my head to answer his questions. More tears fall down my face which I don't understand because I'm in no way sad and my back doesn't even hurt that much. Yet, I can't stop them. Being pregnant is really strange sometimes. "I don't know why I'm crying," I tell him honestly.

This make him laugh and kiss my cheek. "You're so hormonal."

"You're so horny," I counter.

"Well if you weren't so hot, I wouldn't be so horny."

I roll my eyes. "Oh yes," I say sarcastically, "because pregnant women are so damn sexy."

He smirks. "When it's you they are."

I blush slightly but try to ignore his comments so I can actually get some work done. It doesn't work out so well but I do at some point in the late afternoon get it done.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It's a Thursday December afternoon and when I glance outside the staff room's window, I notice it's beginning to flurry. Great, wet roads at the same time I have to drive to Forks. Well, I'm not driving – thank god – but I still have to go.

Oh well, it will be worth it.

"You find out what you're having yet?" Mrs. Belyea, Angela I now call her, asks taking her usual seat beside me.

I smile at her. "Not yet. We're going to the doctor's today so hopefully we'll be able to find out." I cross my fingers at her which makes her laugh.

"Do you know what you want or...?"

I shrug, taking a bite out of my chicken salad. "I kind of do want a girl, but at the same time as long as it's healthy, I don't care. Paul wants a boy, though."

She chuckles. "Yeah, that's usually the case. You think he'll be upset if it's not a boy?"

I shake my head. Although I've never asked him, I know he wants any baby just as much as I do. Maybe I should ask though... just to clarify. "I don't think so. He wants a kid a lot too so I'm sure he'll be okay with what ever." Then I smirk. "He just might make us keep having them until we have one though."

"You better hope you have one soon then," Angela jokes.

I nod. "Yeah I don't want like five kids just 'cause we're not having a boy."

"I can't imagine having any kids," she admits.

I raise an eyebrow, really surprised by this. "Man, you're just like Kim. Why don't you people want kids?"

She shoots me a confused look. "You mean Kim Conweller?" Quickly, she corrects herself, "Well I guess Thail now. But really? She doesn't want kids? I figured she'd have a whole bunch by now. She just seemed like the baby wanting type when I taught her."

"Yeah," I agree. "It's not really that she doesn't want one, I guess; she just doesn't want one now. She's really set on getting promoted a bunch first."

"Ah, that does sound more like her."

I laugh. "Yeah, a little. Emily's having a baby though."

"Uley? Yeah I heard her and Sam were having another little one. I saw Wyatt once at the convenience store with them. He's a cutie."

I giggle in agreement. "That's an understatement. He's the most adorable kid in the world. I swear."

"It's hard to believe that you're only twenty weeks pregnant, though. You look a lot further along."

I nod, sighing. "It's mostly because I'm small so the belly looks stranger on me, I guess. That's what the doctor told me." My belly's a lot bigger now, which just means my back pains have increased. Luckily the doctor said Tylenol is safe to take during pregnancy. Too bad Advil isn't and that's what actually works.

So I use a lot of hot water bottles, ice packs, and Tylenol to get me through the days.

"You're going to look huge when you're almost in labour."

I laugh. Then fling my arm, which still contains absolutely no fat. "Too bad I haven't gained anything anywhere else!" Including boobs, they're barely grown at all. Fat cells just hate me.

"That's supposed to be a good thing."

I glance at my cell phone and realize it's almost time for me to be at my class. I almost answer, _Not when you want to be fat _but everyone always gives me strange looks when I express my want to be bigger so I don't. "Well, I'll see you later."

I head back to my classroom. Both my afternoon classes have a test today so besides answering questions elusively and marking my other classes' work, I don't have to do much. Time passes slowly as I sit in my chair.

All my lesson plans for tomorrow are done and everything is marked so really there's nothing for me to do. Sometimes being on top of things really sucks.

When the final bell rings, there's one person still with a test. She's scribbling things down and looking terrified so I tell her to take her time. She has until four until I have to kick her out. Plus, I'm here until four-thirty with nothing to do but mark these tests.

By the first page of a couple of the tests, I can tell that marking these tests won't be too enjoyable. All my other students in the other classes are doing well. This class though... Most don't pay attention or don't care. At first I was worried that I was teaching it wrong but the three kids who do listen in class are all doing well.

I can't exactly force teenagers to like math so there's not much more I can do than offer extra help.

I start marking and get a little frustrated at the marks. Every other teacher has told me not to worry, that there's always one class like this for any teacher, that I'm doing all I can do. But it still makes me feel like crap.

Sighing, I rest my head in my hands. I just want to get to Forks and find out the gender of the baby already.

I hear a nervous clearing of someone's throat and look up. Kali, the girl who took extra time for her test, stands in front of my desk awkwardly holding her test in her hand. "I'm done," she whispers.

I smile at her, hoping it looks sincere. It's nearly four and although it took her a long time, she definitely put a lot of effort into the test. Which is more than I can say for most of her classmates. "Thanks."

I set it on the top of the pile and if the first page is any indicator of her mark, I'd say she did quite well. "Thanks for letting me stay," Kali smiles shyly at me. I think she's going to leave, but she asks, "Do you know what you're having?"

Her question surprises me. I get along quite well with my other classes and quite frequently I tell them stories or joke around with them. This class is an exception to that. There's a few good kids like Kali but most just don't deserve to do anything but more work.

"I find out tonight, actually." I smile nervously at her, feeling more like a student than a teacher. Quickly I regain my professional – ish – expression.

"Oh, well good luck," she says before waving and leaving the classroom.

Once she leaves, I mark her test. She got a ninety-two which is really amazing. Especially for this class. The next half an hour drags by. Sometimes I really hate the 'stay an extra hour' rule. It's nice when I have things to work on but it's on the odd days that I have nothing to do.

Paul is picking me up since he dropped me off this morning and we get off at the same time today. We're just going to go straight to the hospital. Finally, the clock strikes four-thirty. I lock the classroom and go to the staff room to get my coat.

He's waiting outside. I pull my hood up as I leave the school, braving the snow storm that has stirred up. Climbing into his warm truck, I shiver. "I hate snow."

Paul chuckles, leaning across the cab to give me a kiss. "Well, hello to you, too, sweetheart."

I keep hold him to me for a lingering kiss. "Is that a better hello?"

He smiles, slinging his free arm around my cold shoulders. "Much. Are you excited to clarify that we're having a boy?"

I roll my eyes but realize this is my last chance to find out whether or not he'll be upset if we have a girl. "Paul, will you be mad if we have a girl?"

He blinks at me in surprise; then all teasing is gone out of his eyes. "Of course not! You know I'm just kidding about the boy thing. I'll be happy with whatever we have."

I giggle, smiling happily. "I thought so. I just wanted to make sure."

"But we're definitely going to have a boy at some point."

"What if we have four kids and they're all girls?"

"We'll try again."

I snort. "You're the one who said we weren't having more than four."

"Well..." He comes up blank, making me laugh. "Whatever. I want a boy at some point."

"Okay, babe. But calm, down, we might be having one now."

He mocks crossing his fingers, causing a smile to overtake my face.

"Paul, I'm so excited."

Leaning down and kissing my temple, he whispers, "Me too."

We arrive at the waiting room and like always, it's a somewhat long week. The other patients have stopped giving me death glares every time I go in. I think that's only because one time, one of my student's mom was in here and they all heard her say I was a teacher.

The appointment goes by like normal and I'm a little upset to hear that she wants to run the tests on my back before we do the ultrasound. I want to know the sex already! Everything is clear though and _finally _we get to do the ultrasound.

The picture of the baby comes onto the screen and joy floods over me. I can't honestly tell what the gender is but it's amazing just to see. That's my baby. I notice Paul's expression is pretty much the same as mine. Does he know what the gender is? I'm examining it but I still can't tell.

Our doctor tells us that everything with the baby is healthy. Some other stuff, and then finally, "Can either of you guys tell what it is?"

"No," I say meekly. It's slightly embarrassing not to be able to tell. Should I be able to? I know where to look, but I can't make it out enough to tell.

Luckily, Paul doesn't know either. She smiles. "That's okay, most people can't identify it. Especially when it's their first ultrasound. Do you guys want to know the gender or do you want it to be a surprise?"

"We want to know," I say desperately, not even bothering to let Paul speak. Obviously he does want to, too.

Our doctor doesn't know this though, so she asks him specifically. Telling him he can leave if he doesn't want to know.

Paul laughs, assuring her that he does want to know.

"Well, then, congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Walker, you're having a baby girl."

A huge smile breaks out onto my face and I can't help but squeal in joy. This is amazing! I glance up at Paul, sure that I'll see at least a tiny bit of disappointment.

He surprises me by having the exact opposite look on his face. He's just as excited as me. He grins over at me lovingly and excitedly. Leaning down, and avoiding the ultrasound goo on my stomach, he kisses me lightly. "I guess, you were right."

I smile, nodding. But I can't form words right now. I'm having a daughter!

The doctor says a few more things that I catch and remember, but they aren't that significant or important. I wait until we're in the warmth of his truck to say anything else. As soon as his door shuts, I lunge at him and hug him as tightly as I can. "We're having a girl!" I cry.

He chuckles in amusement. "I know. This is great."

I just giggle, nuzzling my face into his warm neck. "I'm so excited."

We discuss a few more baby names on the way home, nursery ideas, when we should start getting stuff, etc. "We have to stop at Em's," I remind him.

He rolls his eyes but nods. "You that desperate to find out what she's having."

"Well, I want to tell everyone we're having a girl too!"

Paul just laughs, but I can tell he's just as excited as I am to tell everyone we're having a girl. When we arrive at Sam and Emily's, most of the pack is there. I go straight over to Emily. "What are you having? What are you having?" I repeat childishly at her. I'm practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

She laughs, most-likely at my behaviour before saying softly, "We're having a girl."

"Oh my god!" I practically scream, hugging her. "Us too!"

A wave of congratulations goes around and Jillian and Kim join our hug, making it a group hug. We stick around at Emily's for awhile after that. Talking, celebrating, eating. It's pretty awesome how we're both having girls.

**So I know a lot of you wanted her to have a girl and I'm sorry to disappoint but I promise I have a reason ;) **


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

It's Christmas Eve and the first day of Christmas vacation. Paul's gone last minute Christmas shopping – like every year – so I'm putting the finishing touches on my Calculus exam. All the other ones are finished. Exam week is the week after we go back, though, so I want to get it done now so I'm not rushing all that week.

After I finish, I practically waddle – my belly isn't really big enough to make me waddle yet, but my back pain is – over to where the nursery is. We haven't started yet although we've decided to after Christmas. We both are the kind of people who will put things off until it's too late so we have to get it done early.

The room is empty now even though there really wasn't much in it before. The baby stuff we do have is piled in the corner of the room – carrier, diapers, some clothes, and a few toys. Also, there's a basket of little things in another corner that's for Emily. Her shower's in a couple weeks.

I go back over to the couch, glad that the ice pack I have is still cold. I place it on my back and then start watching television. The stores close in about as hour so Paul will be home in about two. Yes, he did have to go all the way to Port Angeles to get his shopping done.

Looking around the house, at our little Christmas tree, I wonder how long we can continue to live here. I really love it. It's so small and quaint. But the size is definitely an issue. It only has one floor and two bedrooms. The living room and kitchen are quite large and leave plenty of room for us and one kid.

But we want more so I guess eventually we will have to move. Sighing, I turn back to the television.

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer is on. The really old one with stop-motion animation and the elf who wants to be a dentist. It's my favourite Christmas movie – even though it's not really a movie since it's under an hour long. I still have the Monopoly game for it around here somewhere.

I drift off somewhere during the movie and am awakened by Paul coming through the door. His entrance makes me jump which shoots a sharp pain up my back. "Ouch," I hiss.

Immediately Paul rushes over to me. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. I'm fine," I assure him, re-situating myself on the couch. I pull the not-so-cold ice pack out from underneath me. "Can you put this in the freezer and grab me another one, please?"

He nods, setting his bags of stuff down and grabbing the pack. "Do you want anything else?" he asks when he comes back with a new one.

I nod, patting the empty couch beside me.

Laughing, he takes a seat and pulls me close to him. "Is you're back getting worse?"

I sigh. "Yeah, but it's supposed to be. Please stop worrying about me."

"You know that's not going to happen. I just wish you weren't in constant pain."

"Me too. But it will be worth it and it's not like it's for the rest of my life." I grab the remote and start flipping through the channels. I come across this year's VISA Championships and smile up at Paul innocently. "Can we watch them?"

He rolls his eyes, sighing dramatically. "Fine."

None of the gymnasts that I know personally still compete but I do recognize some of them from other competitions I watch. They're showing the All-Around competition right now which even though I know the winner, I did miss when it was on.

"Do you still miss it?" Paul asks quietly as we watch a fifteen year old I've never heard of do a Yurchenko 1.5 on the vault. She sticks the landing but her actual performance was a little sloppy.

"Not now. Especially not now," I add, placing my hand on my bulging stomach and smiling at him. "I'd be done by now anyway if I hadn't had my back problems."

He raises an eyebrow. "That soon?"

I nod. "Yeah, it's hard to still do gymnastics when you're older. In countries where it's not as big and there's not as many elites, some still do it at thirty. But here there's always newbies who are good so your chances of making it being older aren't so great. I'm sure I still could but I probably would've retired after the London Olympics."

"And what makes you think you would've made the team?" he teases.

I laugh. "Please," I joke cockily. "I would've made the team easily." Truthfully, I know I would have. I probably would've got All-Around Gold and other golds as well to tell you the truth. A long time ago that would have really bothered me but I'm surprised to find that it doesn't bother me a bit. I love this part of my new life.

"So you don't miss it ever?"

I shrug. "Honestly, no. I mean I still love watching it and stuff but when I really think it over, there's nothing else I could've done to top my Olympics. I got All-Around gold which is pretty much every gymnast's dream. Plus, if I had gone back, the chances of doing that well again aren't that high."

We continue watching it. On the bars, a girl misses her release and face plants into the mat. Paul cringes but I can tell she landed fine. One thing you do learn, is how to fall and clearly, she learned it well. The only thing that's going to be bruised on her is her ego. "She's fine. She landed the right way."

"Face first is the right way?" he asks in disbelief.

"Yeah." I nod. "You can't break anything."

He laughs. His hand rests on my stomach and he asks, "Do you think our little girl will do gymnastics?"

I think about it for a minute. "If she asks to. If not, then no."

"You aren't going to try and beg her to join?"

I snort. "No way in hell. If she wants to do it, she can. But going through it myself, there's no way I'd make my own kid go through it if they didn't like it."

"I thought you loved it?" he asks, slightly confused.

"_I _did," I tell him. "But if I hadn't absolutely loved it, my life would've been hell. Gymnastics is one of those things you just can't quit unless you have to. Most gymnast absolutely hate it and just won't quit. Which is understandable since everyone puts so much time and effort into it. But it takes up so much of your life, even at lower levels that it would make someone who didn't like it life hell. Does that make any sense?"

He nods. "I think I get it."

"Good," I tease, patting his head, "because you don't get much."

He glares playfully at me. "If your back wasn't killing you, you'd be so dead right now."

I giggle, then yawn. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. Make sure Santa comes and all."

He laughs, joining me as I walk to our room. I try extra hard not to waddle when Paul is around, it makes him feel bad. While we're lying in bed, I examine my body. I'm not bloated at all and I really haven't gained any weight. The doctor says that it's a good thing since the baby is still developing fine but I find it a little disappointing.

"Is it weird that I haven't gained any weight besides my stomach?" I ask Paul sleepily.

"The doctor told you it was normal and the baby's fine. Don't worry so much," he mumbles, misinterpreting what I meant.

"That's not what I meant. I mean does it look funny that I'm still super small and then have this huge freaking belly?" Okay, so it's not _that _huge yet but it's still really big.

He chuckles. "You're just too determined to gain weight."

I pout at him which just makes him chuckle more. "My boobs didn't even grow any," I whine childishly. That's a slight understatement because they've gotten a bit bigger. But I'm still the same cup size so the change isn't that huge.

He reaches his hands out, playing with my boobs teasingly. "Well I don't mind and no one else gets to see your boobs but me."

I laugh, cuddling into his side. He drops his hands down so they're resting on my stomach. I smile sweetly and then joke, "The baby will. You'll have to share."

"She'll use them for different purposes though," he says, winking. We tease each other a bit more but eventually I fall to sleep. I like talking until I fall asleep; it keeps me occupied. And that keeps the worst of the back pain away.

I wake up the next morning to the smell of eggs wafting through the house. Chuckling, I drag myself out of bed and to the kitchen. I kiss Paul on the cheek, wishing him a Merry Christmas before going to the cupboard. I take my gross pregnancy vitamins and then sit down at the table.

"When can we open presents?" I ask excitedly.

He laughs. "You're such a kid. At least eat first."

"You sound like my mom."

Paul smirks, shutting off the stove and bringing the food to the table. "Whatever. You know I'm right."

"Fine." I stick my tongue out at him. "So we doing what we normally do?"

He nods. "Unless you want to do something different."

I shake my head. Every Christmas is the same: we open presents, then go to Paul's mom's house, then my parents' and then sometimes we go to Sam and Emily's but we'll probably just come home. The last couple years, Paul's mom and Paige have come over to my parents' house for supper. My mom and Laura get along well. The same thing will probably happen.

We open our gifts. Paul got me a baby book which I'm really excited for. After we're done, it's well past two and Paul's mom calls saying they're leaving for my parents' house so we might as well just go there.

We take the truck but Paul has to help me into the seat. Being pregnant – with ridiculous back pain – kind of makes you handicapped.

"Merry Christmas," I call as we walk into the house. Paige nearly attacks me with a hug as I walk through the door. Paul stops her and makes her hug me normally which makes me laugh. "What did you get for Christmas, sweetie?"

She goes off into an enthusiastic speech about what she got and what her life has been like – even though I literally saw her last week. I don't mind though, she's adorable. Once she's finished, we greet our parents.

Laura smiles at me. "Wow, Everlie, you're huge."

Everyone laughs and I nod. "My stomach at least."

My mom rolls her eyes. Then says to Paul, "I don't know how you deal with her twenty-four-seven."

He chuckles, wrapping his arms around my waist. "It's not that hard."

We open more presents and chat when it occurs to me that Paige doesn't know we're having a girl. Laura and my parents know but she doesn't. When she's in the bathroom, I ask, "Should we tell her it's a girl?"

Paul shrugs, and looks at Laura. We don't really know how she'll react and I don't want to ruin her Christmas if it's not a good reaction. Laura seems to think she'll be okay with it. Boy, is she wrong.

"So Paige," Paul says, smiling, "We're having a girl."

She stares at us for a few minutes while we wait for a reaction. Her mouth opens, then closes. Her eyebrows furrow and then she glares. Then out of nowhere, she starts bawling and runs out of the room.

I gape, completely shocked. Honestly, I thought she would be a little more excited. She likes dolls. Slowly – and painfully – I try to get up from my seat on the floor to go talk to her.

Paul shakes his head and motions for me to stay. "I'll go talk to her."

Once he leaves the room, I look nervously at Laura and my parents. "Uh oh."

They laugh and I'm surprised to see they aren't worried. All three of them seem to catch my reaction and Laura explains, "The only reason she's upset is because she thinks you guys won't love her anymore or want her around when the baby's born. It's not like it's an actual reason so she'll have to get over it eventually."

I sigh, knowing she's right. "But she's just a kid. All kids are like that."

"And all kids get over it if you let them," Mom says, smiling, "if you let them."

"Namely you're saying sometimes you just have to let them cry?"

They all nod which just makes me sigh again. I know their lesson here isn't letting Paige cry. It's their twisted way of telling me that's what I'm going to have to do with the baby. "Well that sucks."

Laura and Mom laugh. "You get used to it," Mom assures me.

"Gee thanks," I say sarcastically. "It's nice to know you're cool with me crying."

She just rolls her eyes. Paul comes back into the room without Paige. "No luck?" I ask.

He shakes his head, sitting down beside me. "Nope. Guess I just ruined her Christmas."

I pat his back gently and lean onto his shoulder. As a sharp pain grazes up my back, I instantly regret it. I wince. "Do you guys have Tylenol?"

Smirking, my mom disappears into the kitchen to get some. She comes back with a glass of water and two pills. Checking them to make sure they're not Advil before I take them, I swallow. I hate taking pills. "Thanks."

"Thanks for thinking I'd give you pills you can't have," she teases.

I blush, feeling bad. "Well, you usually always take Advil and I didn't know if you knew I couldn't have them or not..."

Everyone just laughs at me and our Christmas continues on like normal. Paige stays in my old room, sulking. When dinner is done, she refuses to come out. Laura says it's best to let her sulk and my parents and Paul agree. I still can't help but feel terrible.

After everyone goes back to the living room, I put the stuff she likes on a plate and go upstairs to see her. Stairs. I forgot how horrible they are since my house has one floor and my classroom is on the first floor of the school as well.

I knock but she doesn't tell me to come in. Luckily I know there isn't a lock on this door and walk in. She glares up at me but once she realizes it's me – and probably since I have food as well – it softens. "Hi," she whispers shakily.

"Hi," I reply, setting the plate down on the table beside my bed. "What are you doing up here?"

She pouts and looks away.

"I know you're mad at us for having a baby Paige but the baby isn't going to take your place." She looks up at me in disbelief. I chuckle. "She's going to be my daughter but you're still my little sister and that's something she's not."

She shoots me a go on look and I know if I want her to come downstairs I'm going to have to word this right. "Yeah, we're going to be busy taking care of her but you can still come and visit. You can help me with her. She'll be like a little doll only real. And you'll have to be really careful," I add quickly.

A small smile forms on her face. "You mean I can help?"

I smile down at her, giving her a hug. "Of course. There's some things you won't be able to do but you can still help me."

"Okay," she says quietly.

"Are you going to come downstairs with us?"

She shakes her head, instantly looking scared. "Mommy will be mad at me. And so will Paul."

I laugh, standing up slowly. "No they won't sweetheart. And if they are, I'll yell at them for you. So come downstairs and eat this. Then maybe you can have some dessert."

I carry the plate as she bounds down the stairs. I go much slower, thankful that the Tylenol is finally kicking in. When I get to the bottom, I hand her the plate. She goes to the kitchen to eat and I join Paul and our parents in the living room.

I sit down next to Paul and he whispers in my ear, "I can't believe she listened to you when that's all you said. I tried everything and she didn't come down."

I smile at him, pecking his lips. "She likes me better."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Oh my god Kim, how do you spell pacifier?" I exclaim as we're trying to get the last game for Emily's shower ready. It's the one where you have to unscramble the letters to make a baby word. I'm glad I'm not playing, I suck at spelling.

She bursts out laughing. "And _you're _a teacher?"

I glare at her. "I'm a _math _teacher, we don't need to know how to spell."

Shaking her head, she says slowly, "P-a-c-i-f-i-e-r."

"Thanks," I mumble, scrambling the word. "This is hard. Why do people like playing these games?"

"It's a baby shower. You can't exactly have something exciting happen."

I roll my eyes. "Shut up Baby Hater."

Kim just snorts; it's become a habit of mine to call her that. "Well, everything's ready. Now we just have to wait for everyone to get here."

I nod, sitting down on the couch with a groan.

"You feeling okay?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'm good. Just tired. My back doesn't actually hurt that bad."

"Good." She smiles encouragingly, "Just fifteen more weeks."

I smile excitedly. "And you know what that means?"

She grins back at me with equal excitement. "Five weeks until Em has another little bundle of joy?"

I giggle and nod. "I'm so excited."

"I just can't wait until your shower is done with and I can stop worrying."

I laugh. "My shower is in like two weeks. You've got a while to go. But don't worry about it."

She rolls her eyes. "I want it to be nice."

"It will be awesome. Just like this one. Hopefully... Are you sure we have everything ready?"

She nods. "Now _you _stop worrying or you're going to get wrinkles _and _stretch marks."

I sway at her jokingly. "I don't have stretch marks!"

"You also don't have boobs."

I glare at her. "Hey I'm almost a full B now."

Kim snorts. Of course she snorts, she's like a D. And with Emily pregnant, so is she. Stupid un-flat people. "All right Ev, I'll give ya that one."

Emily comes over to Kim's house – where the shower is – shortly after we're done. Then the guests start to arrive. The shower goes by without a hitch. Everyone enjoys the games and Emily gets a lot of useful gifts. Plus the food isn't too bad. Kim and I made it so it isn't as good as Emily's cooking but it's still nice.

Afterward, when everyone is gone, we shoo Emily away so she doesn't try to help clean up. She's too far along in her pregnancy to really do anything.

The next two weeks pass quickly with nothing remarkable happening besides my back killing me and my first period class driving me insane. It's a new semester so I have all new kids. Like last semester, I have three great classes and one bad one. The bad part is my bad one is first thing in the morning...

Before I know it, it's my shower. Things go over well, just like Emily's. The food is better. The stuff I get is pretty much the stuff we don't have yet or need more of: bouncer from my mom, more bottles, thermometer, more burp rags, q-tips, onesies, and pacifiers. It's awesome.

After the shower, we all go to Emily's. We clean up first though. I insist on helping Kim since Emily can't and I won't let her do it by herself. I text Paul to tell him to go pick up all the baby stuff at Kim's later because there's no way I can carry anything, even if it's just across the road.

Just thirteen more weeks...

Emily on the other hand is just about to pop. She's technically full term now so she can have the baby anytime. Which is kind of, extremely, scary.

Once we're at Emily's, her and I collapse on the couch. She looks so tired. Only my back hurts and although it's excruciating, I know there's a lot of bad pregnancy symptoms that I'm lucky enough not to have experienced.

"You feeling okay?" I ask sympathetically.

She laughs softly. "I'm pregnant, what do you think?"

I nod. "At least you know what to expect."

She chuckles and at that moment Paul, Jared and Sam with Wyatt come in. The toddler runs over excitedly to his mom which just makes Emily frown sadly.

"Upie!" he squeals, smiling.

Emily looks like she's about to cry and although I know it's party just the hormones, I also know she's upset that she's unable to pick him up anymore. "Mommy can't right now sweetie. I'm sorry."

He frowns, instantly pouting.

I'm still not too far along to pick him up but it will make my back hurt really badly. I sigh, and give in though. "Come here, Wy."

He does so happily and I try not to groan as I pick him up. He hugs me around the neck as he stands on the couch. I laugh. "Go hug your mommy, cry baby," I tease, ruffling his hair.

He sticks his tongue out at me which I'm certain Emily normally would've scolded him for but she's too tired. She hugs him back, smiling softly.

The boys join us in the living room but Paul and I don't stay long. Emily's tired and honestly, so am I. When we get home, we go in the nursery. It's actually ready, which I'm glad about. The walls are painted a soft pink and the crib, changing table and little dresser are all set up. The bassinet is in the corner of our room.

There's colorful stickers of butterflies and fairies on the walls – which took me forever to convince Paul about. Luckily, he bought the excuse that babies need color in their room to stimulate their brains. Overall, it looks cute.

Paul did bring the stuff over from Kim's earlier so I start to sort it out. Putting toys in the small bin, folding clothes and putting them in the dresser, taking bottles of oils, shampoos, and lotions into the shelves underneath the changing table and stuff like that. Paul helps me. "So should we think of anymore names?"

He chuckles. "I guess we'll have to." So we do. We're nicer about it this time rather than killing the name that the other suggests. We still don't agree but we come up with a few we both like.

Before I know it, we've got everything put away and it's only been half an hour. "We're good," I joke teasingly.

Paul chuckles, pulling me into his chest. "We are, aren't we?"

Just as I'm held against his chest, I feel a thump in my stomach. I look up at Paul excitedly and see he's smiling. "She kicked!" I whisper happily.

He laughs and we both place our hand on my stomach. A minute or so later, she does it again. Although I've felt her moving around multiple times throughout the pregnancy, I've never really felt her kick. It makes me excited and giddy.

We stay in that spot, holding my stomach in amazement for a while before I finally say, "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's eat."

We go into the kitchen and end up just eating a chicken salad from last night. It's still good, though. Paul rubs his hand up and down my back gently. "Just thirteen more weeks, baby."

I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. "Then I have to push a baby out of myself. I'm pretty sure that's worse pain than the back pain."

"Are you scared?"

I nod, suddenly feeling like a little child. Tears start forming in my eyes and instantly I'm pulled onto Paul's lap and cuddled into his chest.

"You're going to be okay," he promises. "If I could do it for you, I would."

"I know," I whisper, hiding my face in his neck.

He tries to make me look at him but it doesn't work. I keep my face nuzzled in his neck. His next action shocks me enough to make me look up. He runs his hand, that was resting on my stomach, up to my breast and squeezes it gently.

When I see his face, he's grinning. "You should be happy; you have boobs now."

I laugh. Mostly because I know that's what he's trying to do and I don't want to make him upset too and partly because he's right. They've swelled up in the past two weeks and I'm now a C cup. Which is the largest I've even been in my life.

"I am happy," I tell him sincerely. "I'm having a baby with _you_. Of course I'm happy."

Chuckling, he kisses me tenderly. "I glad you're happy."

Before we can say much else, the phone rings. Luckily it's within my reach so I don't have to move. "Hello?"

"Hey, Everlie, it's Sam," Sam says in a worried tone.

His tone makes me stand up and out of Paul's lap. "Is everything okay?"

"Emily's in labour and I have to take her to the hospital. Can you watch Wyatt?"

"Of course," I answer immediately. "I'll get Paul to go over and pick him up."

"Okay, thank you."

"Just call when she has the baby. Good luck."

He thanks me one more time before hanging up. When I go to tell Paul, he's already headed out the door. Werewolf hearing comes in handy every once in a while. Groaning, I waddle over to the living room and turn on TreeHouse. Wyatt is probably really upset right now so I might as well put it on now to start out on a good note.

Anxiously, I wonder if Paul remembered to grab Wyatt's car seat from them before they left. We can't take him to the hospital if we don't have one and ours is for a newborn.

Luckily when he comes in the door, he has Wyatt on one hip and the car seat on the other. My relief goes away quickly when I notice Wyatt crying. Sighing, I sit down in the recliner and motion for Paul – who looks freaked out and unsure of what to do – to give him to me.

He sets him down on my lap and Wyatt leans on my belly, blubbering. "What are you crying about silly?" I ask softly, rocking the seat back and forth.

It takes me about ten minutes before I get him quieted down enough for him to actually speak. "Mommy was cwying! Mommy was sad."

"Shhh," I whisper, still rocking. "It's okay. Mommy isn't sad, she's happy. Really happy. She's going to have a baby. You're going to have a little sister."

That doesn't calm him down, it makes him worse. He wails. What is up with these kids not wanting more babies around? "Shhhh, you're all right."

"No!" he cries. "I don' wanna thister!"

I continue to rock him back and forth, no longer sure of what to do. "It'll be okay, baby. You'll love having a little sister."

"No!" he screams.

I look at Paul helplessly but I can tell he has no idea what else to do either. "Let's go to bed Wyatt."

"No! I want my mommy!" he starts crying more.

I take him into Paul's and my room. He weighs a lot more than I remember. He's already in pajamas so I set him on our bed and lay down beside him. Paul brings in one of the baby blankets we have and lays it beside him.

It works and after a while, he cries himself to sleep, clutching the blanket. I sigh in relief, but I don't want to move in case he wakes up.

Paul shuts off the light and lays down on the other side of Wyatt. He gives the little boy a lot of room, probably scared he's going to squash him. "Think we're ready for this?" I ask, only half-joking.

Paul chuckles softly, intertwining our fingers over the pillows. "You will be; I'll figure it out as we go."

I smile. "You helped too." After all, he wouldn't have gone to sleep if it wasn't for the blanket. "But we'll deal with him tomorrow again, I guess."

"Good night, Evie. I love you."

"I love you, too, Paul." I drift off to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I wake up the next morning to an empty bed which instantly worries me. Wyatt's blanket is still here, but he's not. "Paul!"I call frantically.

In a second flat, he's at the doorway looking worried. "What? Are you okay?"

"Where's Wyatt?"

Paul laughs in relief. "He's watching TreeHouse. Is that all?"

"Did Sam call?" I ask, getting up from bed slowly.

He shakes his head. "Nope, not yet. But it's only nine-thirty. Do you need some help?"

I roll my eyes. "I can get dressed Paul."

He smirks. "Just making sure. Call me if you need anything."

I don't and manage to get dressed by myself with minimal difficulty. "Did he eat?" I ask Paul when I enter the kitchen.

He shakes his head. "He wasn't hungry when we got up so I figured we'd wait until later."

I nod and pull out a bowl from the cupboard. Then grab the milk and Special K. After I put them together, I put some juice into his sippy cup. "You want some Frosted Flakes?" I ask him.

He nods happily as I give him the Special K and juice. He's pretty occupied with the television as he eats so he doesn't even notice that it's not the right cereal.

Paul shakes his head as he comes and joins me. "Tricking a toddler. You should be ashamed of yourself."

I chuckle and smile innocently at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Rolling his eyes, Paul starts watching Max And Ruby. I remember watching this show as a kid and I can't believe it's still on. What makes it worse is that they're actually the same episodes just in better quality. So whether it's from babysitting Wyatt or seeing them as a kid, I've seen them all.

It's a pretty stupid show too, but I deal with it.

"Do you got any bananners?" Wyatt asks after he's finished his breakfast.

I giggle. "Do I _have _any? Yes. Would you like one?"

He smiles cutely up at me and nods. "Pwease."

I glance up at Paul hopefully. He nods and kisses my cheek – which Wyatt covers his face for. He comes out with a plate with little slices of banana on it. I smile at him as he places the plate in front of Wyatt.

"See, you're ready to be a dad. You even know how to cut bananas properly."

He snorts. "And that makes someone a good dad?"

I shrug, smirking. "Well it means your kid isn't going to choke on a banana. That's a good thing."

He chuckles but the phone rings so he doesn't say anything else. I pick up the cordless which is conveniently on the back of the couch. "Hello?"

"Hey, Everlie. It's Sam. How's Wyatt?"

"He's good, watching TV. How is Emily? Did she have the baby already? Is everything okay?"

Sam chuckles happily on the other end so I guess everything must be going pretty well. "That's good. Emily's great. She had the baby. There wasn't any complications or anything. You can bring Wyatt up anytime and come see us."

"All right, sounds good. We'll be up soon. But, uh, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Wyatt was freaking out last night because he didn't want a sister so his reaction at the hospital might not be that great."

Sam laughs but there's a worried edge to it. "Yeah, I know. I think he's kind of worried he'll be replaced. He's been like that since we explained the baby thing to him. Hopefully he'll come around."

"I'm sure he will," I tell him cheerfully. "We'll be up soon. Congratulations!" I hang up. "They had the baby. Do you have to do anything before we go?"

"No, but I'll get Wyatt ready if you want to rest before we go."

I nod gratefully and he sweeps Wyatt off the floor. After he has him ready, I take Wyatt so he can put the car seat in the car. We can't take the truck since Wyatt's with us so Paul will have to suck it up and drive my car.

"Where are we going?" Wyatt asks as I lead him down the walkway to the car.

"We're going to see your Mommy and Daddy," I tell him, strapping him into the car seat while he's still in a good mood.

He waits until I'm in the passenger seat before he asks, "Is my thister going to be there?"

I look at Paul and he shrugs. "Yup."

Instantly he starts wailing and I feel bad for Paul. This is probably murdering his ears. I try to sooth Wyatt on the drive but it's hard in the front seat. He's still crying when we arrive at the hospital. I carry him because he just cries more when Paul has him. When we go through the door, he's bawling and clinging onto my jacket for dear life.

A worried looking nurse rushes over to us. "Is he okay? Is there a problem?"

I shake my head, blushing slightly. "He's just a little upset that he has a little sister now."

The nurse gives us a sympathetic look. "Good luck. My first born was like that. Cried for days after our second was born."

I just laugh. Paul chuckles and says, "Yeah, good thing he isn't ours then."

We laugh while Wyatt continues to cry. Poor thing. We take the elevator up to the tiny maternity wing because there's no way I'm going upstairs and holding him. My back already feels like it's about to fall off...

We get to the waiting room and see Kim, Jared and Leah there. I smile at them. Leah smirks. "What did you do to the poor thing?"

I laugh, blushing again. "Told him he had a sister."

They all burst out laughing but I try to focus on Wyatt. His parents are pretty happy right now, I don't want him to ruin it. "Wyatt, baby, come on, don't you want to see your mommy and daddy?"

"No!" he wails. "I don't wanna thister."

I look around helplessly but no one knows what to do. Paul goes to the receptionist to see if we can go in while I bounce Wyatt. I try not to wince but fail. This little boy is killing my back. "You might like her. And in a little bit you'll have someone to play with."

"I don't wanna share Mommy and Daddy!"

"Sharing is good," I say hopefully.

"No!" he cries.

Luckily by this time Paul has come back over. "She said we can go in. Do you want me to take him?"

I nod, out of breath. But Wyatt is clinging onto my shirt and screaming so there's no sense in making this worse. "Just leave him. He'll go to Sam or Emily when he sees them."

I attempt to not look miserable but no one buys it. Even Leah shoots me a sympathetic look as the five of us go to the room. Even though she's not as bitter anymore since she imprinted and got to stop phasing, she still doesn't like me that much.

Paul knocks on the door and Sam tells us to come in. I know he can hear Wyatt. As soon as Wyatt sees his parents, he still cries but he lets go of me and let's Sam hold him. Thank god. It's like instant relief for my back.

I sit down in the empty chair beside Emily and smile. "She's beautiful," I tell her.

She smiles, cradling the silent baby to her chest. "Thanks. Has he been like that all night?" I can tell she's worried about him and I feel bad. If only I'd known how to settle him down.

"Um, not really. He was last night and then on the car ride here. But that's it."

She sighs, softly. "You want to hold her?"

"I'd love to but..." After carrying Wyatt around for about fifteen minutes, I don't think I can handle holding things for a little bit.

"Your back is killing you? Sorry."

I laugh. "It's not your fault. And you just had a baby, I'm in no place to complain. How are you feeling?"

"Good," she admits. "She's a lot smaller than Wyatt was when he was born."

"Speaking of she," I say, "what did you guys name her?"

Everyone turns towards Emily, awaiting the answer. "Bridgette Sophia Uley."

"Aw, that's a pretty name." I smile. Everyone else says they like the name and take turns holding the baby. Wyatt has finally calmed down a bit but he won't even look at Bridgette. When it becomes my turn, my back feels better so I hold her. Playing and smiling at her tiny little body.

She's absolutely adorable. And asleep. I remember the day Wyatt was born; he cried the entire time. I guess his sister is a lot less dramatic. Wyatt finally looks over at his sister. When he sees it's me holding her, he surprised everyone in the room.

"Twaitor!" he exclaims, crying once again.

I sit there, gaping with Bridgette in my arms. First of all, he's two. How does he even know that word? Second, he's watched his own parents hold her and never said anything. Why am I the traitor?

Sam tries to calm him down, but it doesn't work. "I wann my mommy!" he cries. Emily sits up slowly, trying not to laugh. She holds out her arms and he crawls onto her lap, cuddling into her chest.

Then, he literally looks up at me and glares. I've never seen this sweet little boy glare at anybody and he glares at me for holding his sister. I'm completely dumbfounded. Everyone else finds it hilarious. "I don't thing Wy likes you anymore Evie," Paul teases.

I frown, thinking he's right. Sam pats my back, chuckling. "He'll get over it."

Eventually, we leave them to themselves. Before we leave, Paul slips out to get Wyatt's car seat. Everyone says good bye to Sam, Emily, Bridgette and Wyatt. Wyatt says good bye to them all. When I say good bye to him, he glares at me again before looking away.

We leave and everyone still finds it hilarious. Of course they do, they aren't hated by a two year old. "What was I supposed to do? Never go near her? Why didn't he care when you guys held her?"

Kim snorts. "He's two, Ev, he'll get over it. Besides, your his favourite – besides Sam and Emily."

We get into the car and Paul squeezes my hand gently. "Are you really going to cry because a two year old won't talk to you?"

I glare at him. "Don't be mean. And I'm not crying."

Chuckling, he leans over and kisses my temple. "You look like you're about to. It'll be okay. It's just like Paige. She hated me when I told her you were pregnant. She got over it. Wyatt will too."

I sigh, leaning back into the seat. "I hope so."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

It's been a few weeks since Bridgette was born and even though I visit Emily's house quite frequently, Wyatt's still on his "I have to ignore Everlie" phase. He either leaves the room or runs to another adult and hugs them. It's actually kind of cute because he'll look over to make sure I'm watching him.

He's pretty smart for a two year old.

It's the middle of February and since my back pain is a lot worse than I originally thought it would be, I'm going to take maternity leave halfway through March instead of at the beginning of April. All my classes seemed to not like the idea which makes me a little happy. Except my first period class of course. They want me gone.

But with only a month left of teaching for the year, I try to stay on top of things. Plus I have to get everything ready for the substitute teacher which is really tedious.

Right now, Paul and I are going over to Sam and Emily's place. We just got back from another doctor's appointment. I swear to god I have them almost every two weeks now... Everything is fine, though, so I guess I can't complain.

When we walk in, Emily's cooking some food. Shocker. She's gone back to her old self. Taking care of Wyatt, taking care of Bridgette and cooking insane amounts of food. "Hey guys," I greet, waddling in. I immediately sit down in one of the chairs around the table.

Jillian smiles at me. "Aw, you're so cute when you're pregnant. I'm going to miss it when you have the baby!"

I roll my eyes, resting my elbows on the table. "I'm not."

Paul chuckles, kissing my cheek before going into the living room with the guys. "Just eight more weeks," he calls back.

I look over at him, about to stick my tongue out at him when I notice Wyatt looking at me. As soon as realizes I'm looking at him, I smile. He makes a cute little annoyed face and charges at Paul, hugging him tightly.

I can't help but laugh. "I think your son's trying to make me jealous."

Emily laughs, shaking her head at Wyatt who is now snuggled up to Paul. "He is so weird."

I nod. "Oh well. At least Bridge somewhat likes me."

"Don't feel flattered. She even likes me," Kim jokes as she holds the baby. "And no babies like me."

I roll my eyes. "That's 'cause you're a baby hater."

She sticks her tongue out at me.

Emily hands me a fresh muffin which I immediately dig in to. "He likes you. He just likes his little game. Once he stops getting attention for it he'll love you again."

"Are you calling your little angel an attention seeker?"

Emily snorts, taking Bridgette from Kim so she can feed her. "Uh, yeah! He's the biggest attention seeker I know. Why do you think he hates Bridgey so much?" She coos at the baby, smiling. I don't have to look into the living room to know Wyatt is seething.

"He is," I admit. "But he's just too cute. You can't deny that."

We go into the the living room a little while later and join the guys. TreeHouse in on... wonder who chose that? After a while, a beeper goes off in the kitchen. I'm guessing that means that something in the oven is done. "Can you hold her for a second?" Emily asks me.

I nod and situate the baby in my arms.

Wyatt notices Emily leaving without the baby and that's enough to take his focus off the screen. He looks around the room, to see who has her most likely, and when his gaze falls on me, he shrieks.

Everyone is startled and their heads snap towards Wyatt. He's glaring at me once again – although his little face doesn't make it look too menacing.

I chuckle accidentally. His expression is just too funny not to laugh at...

This makes him really angry and he shoots up from his place on the floor. "I hate you!" he cries before running out of the room.

Just like in the hospital room, everyone stares blankly. Eventually, Sam comes out of his state of shock and stands up. "This is getting ridiculous," he mumbles before going after the toddler. I can't make out what he's saying, but I can tell his tone is stern and chances are, Wyatt's going to get a time out.

As soon as Sam is out of the room, Kim bursts out laughing. Emily is standing in the door frame with a frown on her face. "It's not funny. I'm sorry Everlie."

I roll my eyes good-naturedly at her. "It's okay. It's not like you did anything. I'm just surprised he knows what that means." I look pointedly at Collin and Brady who blush madly. I can pretty much guarantee that they're the only ones who use that word around Wyatt.

Emily still looks upset though, making me feel worse. "Come on Em, it's no big deal. It takes time for them to get used to having a new baby in the house. And it's not like he doesn't get mad when other people hold him. He just likes yelling at me." And making me feel terrible.

"Well that's your fault; you baby him all the time," Paul points out.

"Whatever." I wave it off, even though I know he's right. When Wyatt's a brat, the others at least punish him. I usually don't. I mean, if he was my own kid, I might. But he's not... Clearly I'm now getting the punishment for that.

Eventually, the awkwardness subsides and things go back to the way they were earlier. Sam's still in the other room talking to Wyatt. We switch it off TreeHouse and put a hockey game on. I don't really pay attention, sports aren't my thing.

Sam comes back into the room, sighing in frustration as he sits down. I give him Bridgette and smile sheepishly at him. "Sorry."

He chuckles, cuddling her closer to him. "Don't be. It's not your fault. He'll come around. He doesn't like his room much so he'll have to if he wants out."

I laugh lightly. "What did you tell him?"

Sam shrugs. "That he can't come out unless he wants to apologize to you for being rude."

I feel a little bad, but I don't know why. He does have to learn eventually, but I know most kids his age are the same way over everything. This is really the only thing he's not good about. Supper is ready and we go eat. Afterward we go back to watch television and Wyatt still hasn't come out. I can hear him crying softly in his room, though.

Sighing, I lean onto Paul's shoulder. If it's this hard to let somebody else's baby cry, how am I going to be able to let my own baby cry?

Paul slips his hand around my waist and rests it on my bulging stomach. A few minutes later, I hear the pitter-patter of little footsteps. I don't look away from the television until I feel a tug on my pant leg. Glancing down, I see Wyatt standing there, looking up at me sadly with his thumb in his mouth.

"Upie?" he asks quietly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sam shake his head. "No," I tell him, quiet as well. "You were mean."

He pouts and rests his head on my knee, wrapping his tiny arms around my calf. "I'm sowwy," he tells me sadly. "I don hate you. I wuv you." He smiles up at me adorably.

I look over at Sam who shrugs but I don't answer quickly enough for Wyatt so he says again, "I'm sowwy I was mean. You can hab my teddy if you wan."

I shake my head, smiling. "That's okay Wy. I forgive you."

He beams up at me, shooting his hands up towards me.

Chuckling, I look over at Paul pointedly. He laughs and places Wyatt on my lap. He gives me a hug but his arms barely reach around my belly. "Ith your baby gonna be my thister too?" he asks, worry taking over his little face.

I giggle, rubbing his back gently. "No, Wyatt. She won't be your sister."

"Good," he says with a little nod, making the whole room erupt in laughter. He stops hugging me eventually and settles himself comfortably on my lap. "Why isn't TweeHouse on?" His face gives the impression that that is the biggest problem currently going on in the world.

"'Cause all your uncles are meanies," I tell him jokingly.

He agrees with me but doesn't say anything about the television again even though nobody changed the table. Instead, he turns around on my lap so he's facing Sam – who is still holding his daughter. Wyatt pouts at him until the point I'm certain his face will freeze.

Sam smiles a little. "Come here Wyatt." He situates Bridgette so he can hold both of them and although Wyatt doesn't stop shooting daggers at his sister the entire time, he doesn't complain either.

When it comes time for us to go, Wyatt hugs me goodbye and acts like he always did before Bridgette was born. It's refreshing. After almost a month of him hating me, it's nice to be on his good side.

"So did you learn anything today?" Paul asks, slightly teasing as we enter the house.

"Did I learn what?" I ask, waddling to our bedroom.

He smirks, stripping off his shirt and throwing it on the basket in the corner. "How about what brats children turn into when you spoil them?"

I roll my eyes, lowering myself onto the bed. I wore sweats today which I'm grateful for because I honestly don't have the energy to change. "I'm not the only one who spoils him! Don't worry, I will punish our daughter when she acts like a brat."

Laying down beside me, his face contorts in terror. "You better, or else we're going to go through hell when she's a teenager."

I chuckle. "If she's anything like you were, we're already in trouble. She'll be chasing after the boys."

He snorts, wrapping his arms around me and massaging my back lightly. "Well, if she's anything like you, all the boys will be all over her."

It's my turn to snort. "Oh please. If she's anything like me she'll be the flat-chested, short girl that no one wants except the man-whore," I tease, pecking his lips to assure him I'm joking.

He chuckles. "First off, that's not true. Second, I was so not a man-whore."

"Puh-lease!" I squeal. "I bet if I went around and asked all the girls in our class if they slept with you, over half of them will say yes."

"Yeah well..." He wracks his brain for a comeback but comes up blank. "Well... that isn't fair because you were a virgin when I met you."

I stick my tongue out at him. "So? Is that a problem?"

He smirks. "Well, I liked the fact that I'm the only guy you've ever gave yourself to," he growls in my ear. "But I didn't like the agonizing months I had to go through without sex."

I roll my eyes dramatically but can't help but smile. "_Agonizing months_? It was like four months. That's not that long."

He gapes at me in disbelief. "That's like a life time! That was the longest I'd ever gone. You should have been proud of me." He grins cockily at me.

"You know if you didn't beg for sex almost every night, I wouldn't believe you." Before my back started killing me, that was true. Now he waits for me to initiate it in case my back hurts. He still pouts though so it normally happens a couple times a week just so I don't have to deal with him guilt tripping me subconsciously.

"Hey, once you have the baby we won't be able to have sex for like six weeks so I have to get it all out now."

I roll my eyes. "And are you going to die in those six weeks?" I ask teasingly.

"Nah, you'll just be giving a lot of blow jobs?" he jokes, ruffling my hair.

I smack him playfully. "You're such a perv. And chances are I'll be busy taking care of our baby."

He smirks, placing a lingering kiss on my lips. "I was kidding. And I know she'll take up most of our time but that's okay. It's what we've been waiting for isn't it."

Giggling, I pull myself as close as I can to him without squashing my stomach. "Yup. And we're going to be so tired we're going to want to die."

Paul chuckles. "The joys of being parents to newborns."

"Maybe we'll be lucky and she'll be like Bridgette. Em said she hardly ever cries and sleeps half-decently."

"Or she'll be like Wyatt and cry non-stop for the first few weeks."

I chuckle. "Yeah that's more likely, I guess."


	19. Chapter 19

**This is kind of just a filler, but hope you enjoy :)**

Chapter 19

As the bell rings signaling the end of class, I've never felt so relieved for a day of school ending in my life. It's my last day before I go off for maternity leave and don't have do force myself through a whole day with a smile on my face. Don't get me wrong, I really love my classes and the actual teaching is usually the best part of my day, but there's only so much back pain I can take.

My classes – besides my first one that made it clear they're happy about getting a substitute – were really nice today and even wished me luck. Chances are, I'm going to need it.

Since all my stuff that needs to leave the classroom is already gone, I leave and class room and lock it up like usual. Grabbing my jacket from the staff room, I go outside to wait for Paul. He'll probably be a few minutes since he got off work not too long ago. However, he insists that I'm not allowed to drive anymore.

Even though our ob/gyn said that I still can for the next couple weeks.

He drives up and I struggle to get into the truck. I glare at him as he tries to get out and help me. "I can do it myself," I tell him stubbornly which just makes him sigh.

I know I've been extremely irritable lately but I just can't help it. It's not just the back pain anymore either. It's the fact that I can't bend over, I can't walk properly, I can't sit down or lay down without it taking a lot of time or without help. I feel like I can't do anything by myself anymore and honestly, I really can't.

Just to prove this more, Paul insists on helping me out of the truck. "You're cute when you waddle, you know that," he teases as we walk inside.

"Fuck off," I snap, waddling as fast as I can away from him and into the house.

"Ev, come on, babe. I'm sorry."

I sigh. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It's just..." I groan. "I'm tired and I'm sore and I just want to have this baby already."

We're in the kitchen at this point and he smiles lazily at me, pulling me into his chest. Normally I would feel warm and safe in his arms, but with my protruding belly forcing me to turn sideways in order for him to hug me, I don't.

He rubs my back gently while making soothing noises. "I know, sweetheart. Just four more weeks to go."

"But I want her out now!" I whine. It's pointless and childish to say these things but I can't stop myself. I just want to cry. Everything hurts. Why did Emily go through this twice? _How _did she go through this twice?

Paul chuckles softly. "You're only thirty-six weeks along. That would make her premature."

"I was premature and I'm okay."

"You're also only five feet tall."

"That's because of gymnastics. And my back hurts because of gymnastics. And I hate gymnastics," I cry, finally just breaking down. I feel pathetic but I just don't care anymore. Everything hurts. I'm always tired and when I complain I just feel worse because I wanted this. I still want this. I just want it to be over with soon.

Sighing, Paul picks me up and saunters into our room. Before I know it, we're cuddled on our bed while he attempts to stop my crying.

The only sound in the room for the longest time is my crying. Paul keeps asking what's wrong. If there's something he can do. If I want him to get somebody. If something happened. But I don't answer his questions; I just sob and cling to him for dear life.

"It hurts," I finally whimper. "Really bad."

"I know. I know," he says gently, rubbing my back. "Do you want an ice pack? A water bottle? A Tylenol?"

I shake my head. "Just hold me," I sob.

And for the next four hours until I fall asleep, he does. He continues whispering to me and rubbing my back. It doesn't make the pain go away and it definitely doesn't get rid of that pathetic feeling. But having him close does make me feel a bit better.

**Paul's POV**

Eventually Everlie is asleep enough that I can slip out of bed and go to patrol. I'm going to be a few minutes late but Sam's been pretty lenient the last few weeks. Clearly he understands the whole hormonal wife thing...

Feeling like complete shit, I strip down in the woods and phase. _Sorry I'm late._

_It's okay. _Sam says sympathetically. It's just the two of us tonight since the res has been pretty quiet. Thank god. _Ev? _He guesses.

I bark out a laugh before starting along the border line. _Kinda. Her back hurt and she couldn't sleep so she wanted me to stay with her._

Sam chuckles. _I'm sure you'd rather be there than here._

_Obviously. I feel like shit when she's like that though and it pisses me off because she's the one that's in pain. It sucks not being able to do anything about it._

_Yeah. _Sam nods in agreement. _Wait 'til she's in labour. You'll want to die._

_Way to be encouraging, _I groan.

He just shrugs. _I'm just warning you. She'll be crying and screaming things at you she probably doesn't mean. She'll be in so much pain you'll feel it, although not the whole extent of it. It fucking sucks but it's something you have to deal with._

_Great..._

_You'll be fine. _By the looks of his thoughts, I can tell he's not completely sure if I will be fine.

_I'm not going to leave her in the delivery room, _I snap, appalled at that idea. Why the fuck would I do that to her?

Sam sighs. _I didn't mean it like that, okay? I just want you to know that it's going to be something you don't want to go through. It's going to be hell. So while it's going on just keep reminding yourself that you have to be there for her. That's what I had to do._

He runs the memories through his thoughts, making me cringe. Not so much at the baby being born but more at how much it sucked for both him and Emily.

_The things we do for kids._

_You mean for our imprints? _He teases.

I chuckle. _Hey! I want kids too. It just took me awhile to figure it out._

_Yeah, I noticed. But don't worry, they are worth it. Except when your two year old won't be in the same room as his little sister without plotting her death._

I snort. _That's a little harsh. He's just glaring; you don't have to put him out to be a murderer before he can even talk properly. And I'm sure you still thinks it's worth it._

_It was a joke Paul. _He rolls his eyes. _You nervous? To be honest, a few years ago I never expected you to be the one having kids. Not that you don't like them or anything, but you know..._

I roll my eyes but ignore his last statement. After all, I hear this every time someone finds out I'm having a baby. _A little. I mean I'm more excited, I guess. But there's just so much stuff I don't know what to do for. Like when we had Wyatt while you two were at the hospital and he was crying, I was completely clueless._

Sam smirks as I replay the memory. _You weren't that hopeless. You got him a blanket. _I huff in annoyance. _Okay, okay, sorry. That was a joke. _

_You know Sam, if you have to state it's a joke, then chances are it's not funny._

Snorting, he continues, _Anyway. You're not supposed to know what to do. No one does – well I guess girls do a lot... But dads normally don't. You'll learn though. Until Wyatt was born, I couldn't even tell you how to put on a diaper._

That makes me feel a bit better. I know how to do that type of stuff. _Even I can do that, _I jest.

_So can I._

_You couldn't do that before you had a kid though. So I win._

_No you don't. You couldn't do it before I had a kid._

I snort. _Yeah right! Do you know how many of Paige's diapers I had to change?_

_All right, whatever. You win. But if you really look at it, you have to go almost the next three months without sex while I can have it any time I want._

I growl at him. _Fuck off. _He's right though. Evie only has four weeks left and since she was born premature and sex induces labour, we're not having any so we don't have the baby being born early a bigger risk. Plus, you can't have sex for like six weeks after she has the baby. Which is gay but I guess I have to deal with it.

_Whatever. _I smirk. _I get more than you do any._

_You're so immature._

**Everlie's POV**

Groaning as I wake up, I realize the bed is empty. "Paul?" I call. When I get no answer, I conclude that he's on patrol. Slowly, I manage to get out of bed and go into the kitchen. I take the stupid vitamins and eat some cereal for breakfast.

After grabbing an ice pack, I go back to bed. I'm not tired but my bed is a lot comfier than the couch or the recliner. Plus all the blankets make the ice pack not so uncomfortable. 

I try to think of something to pass the time. Of course, I come up blank. Despite have to go to work being a pain – literally – it gave me something to do when I'm home and need to pass time. Now I can't even do that.

Thinking of baby names is an option but we've already narrowed it down to three. And I don't want to think of anymore since that will just make the decision more difficult. I drift off to sleep after a while which is weird considering when I'm actually tired, I can never fall asleep.

I'm awakened by footsteps that scare the crap out of me. I barely stifle a scream. Paul appears in the doorway, allowing me to breath again. "You scared me!" I breath.

He chuckles, looking apologetic. "Sorry, babe. I didn't mean to. I figured you'd be up. Still tired?" I brushes my hair out of my face gently.

I shake my head. "Just bored, that's all. I don't really have anything to do."

"Enjoy it," he tells me, smirking as he kisses my forehead. "In a few weeks you'll never run out of things to do.

"That's okay. I won't mind." Then I sigh, a bit frustrated that there's nothing to do. "Are you sure we have everything ready for her?"

"We've had it ready for weeks. Are you really that desperate to do something?"

I nod eagerly.

He sighs and leans across the bed to open his bedside table drawer. He pulls out a coiled book of some sort; then he grabs a pencil. "Here. Do these. There's like a million of them."

I take the book and instantly recognize it. It's a Sudoku book. I think his mom gave it to him a while ago but as I open it, I see that it's untouched. "Too challenging for your brain?" I tease.

He rolls his eyes, ruffling my hair that's already a mess. "Last time I'm going to be nice to you."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

When I woke up this morning, I couldn't help but feel anxious and on-edge. Even know, hours later, I still can't shake the feeling. It's safe to say this is the worst I've ever felt throughout my entire pregnancy. But that's the way it's supposed to be by the end, right? After all, I'm thirty-nine weeks along and about to pop at any time.

It's nerve-wracking not knowing when it will happen. How it will happen. I always wake up in the middle of the night, unsure if what I'm feeling is my water breaking or not. It's driving me insane; I hate not knowing things.

Whenever I complain to my mom about it, she just tells me to get used to it since I'll have no idea what to do with anything when the baby comes. She's really encouraging... Her advice doesn't make anything less stressful, though.

For three weeks, I've been stuck in this house with nothing to do. Cooking and cleaning only take up so much time and I can only do so much before I'm either exhausted or in excruciating pain. Paul works or patrols during the day so he's home at night. I didn't ask him to talk to Sam about it, or even hint at it, but it's really nice having him here at night. Everything isn't as scary.

But that does mean for the majority of the day, I'm home alone with nothing to do. Paul's Sudoku book was finished the week he gave it to me and I don't really feel like driving all the way to Port Angeles just to get another one.

I've managed to go to Emily's quite a lot. I can't do much there except play with Wyatt and hold Bridgette since she doesn't allow me to help her with anything. It does pass time, though. And Wyatt is improving. He allows me to hold Bridge for at least ten minutes before he starts sulking. Plus, he's gotten past his crying phase of it. Now he just sulks and glares... whenever someone pays attention to her.

Kim works during the day and by the time she's home and free to hang out, I'm usually in bed. So besides when she's at Emily's or on the weekends.

I stir the rice on the stove again before going back to the kitchen table and sitting down. The queasy feeling is still stirring in me and I wonder if I should tell Paul when he gets home. He'll probably just tell me to calm down and stop worrying, though, and that I'm only making myself think something's weird.

He's probably right, too, especially after I'd convinced myself I was pregnant the first time. I've learned that if you think about something too much, you'll start to believe it. That's finally backfired on me.

"Hello, beautiful," Paul greets as he walks through the door. He strolls up to me, wraps his arms around my waist and kisses me.

I chuckle, pushing him away. "Go get a shower. You stink!"

He pouts at me. "You're mean."

I giggle, pressing my lips to his teasingly. He does smell really bad, though. The downside of him working at a car shop. Oil is far from the best smell in the world. "I am. Now go get a shower. Supper should be done by the time you get all that crap off of you."

Paul rolls his eyes with a smile on his face. "'Kay. You feeling okay? You look tired."

I shrug, turning back to the stove. "I'm always tired. It's normal."

He sighs and places one more kiss on me before disappearing to the bathroom. I have to admit, I am more tired than usual. And I will tell him... later. I get all the food on the plates and at the table by the time he's out of the shower.

He helps me into the chair which is kind of pointless – although thoughtful – since I've gotten used to doing it by myself. Being home alone a lot and all. "What did you do today? Are you sure your feeling okay?"

I nod. "I'm fine, babe." But I honestly don't feel fine; I just don't know how to explain what I'm feeling to him. So I don't bother. The scary thing is that I did nothing today. I did less today than I do regularly yet I'm way more tired than I normally am.

He doesn't buy it but stops asking questions. His eyes never leave me though. If I even twitch slightly, he looks like he's about to launch himself out of his chair to see if I'm okay. The gesture's sweet and for some reason, it makes me worry even more.

After supper, we cuddle on the couch. I don't care what's on the television at the moment so I tell Paul to put on the game. He's normally really focused on the game when he watches it so I figured it would make him stop watching me like a hawk. I'm wrong. It just worries him more and for the entire two hours, his eyes never even flicker to the screen.

When it's a reasonable time to go to bed, I force out a yawn – which isn't too difficult. Immediately, without a word, he picks me up carefully and carries me to the room. I change slowly, not wanting to move too quickly. Paul's still not taking his eyes off of me so I make a joke in hopes that it will relax him. "Quick looking, you perv."

He rolls his eyes. "_This _of all the things I do is what makes me a perv?" His laugh that follows, I can tell, is forced. He does an okay job at faking it but I know him too well. I lay down in bed, stifling a groan. God, I want to have her already.

"Maybe," I say, trying to keep my tone light. Just like his laugh, it comes out forced. Once the lights are off, I curl up into his sides. It makes me feel a bit better but the feeling doesn't pass.

"Everlie," Paul whispers, his voice so serious it scares me.

"Yeah?"

"If anything happens, or you feel weird, tell me, okay?"

I nod, but don't take the opportunity to tell him like I probably should.

"I mean it. Please."

I nod again. "I will. Go to bed, sweetie."

He doesn't. Neither do I. We both fake it pretty well though. He even lets out some fake snoring noises. I actually do try to fall asleep, hoping the queasiness and uneasiness will fade. It doesn't; it gets worse. The minutes and hours tick by yet I just lay here sleepily unable to get to the point of sleep. I toss and turn.

This just makes things worse because it stirs Paul out of his fake-slumber and makes him extremely alert.

I guess this happens to be a good thing, though. Because, quarter after three that morning, it happens. The moment I've been waiting for for the past nine months. "Paul," I whisper. He shoots up immediately, waiting to see what I say. "I think my water broke."

Then, I begin to panic, forgetting everything I'm supposed to do in this moment. Where's my bag for the hospital? Were all those pains I've been feeling all day contractions? Why didn't I think of that being it? And finally, why am I moving?

Before I know it, we're in our car and Paul's backing out of the driveway. I glance around the car frantically. He's got everything we need, I think. What I guess is a contraction hits and all thoughts of what we should have with us just disintegrates.

I begin to cry. The pain puts even my back pains to shame. It's a million times worse than what I expected – worse than anything I've ever felt. "Paul," I whimper.

He holds out his hand, letting me squeeze it as tightly as I need to. "It's okay, sweetheart."

I nod, and do as he instructs once he tells me to breath. It's harder than it was when I was just doing the breathing exercises.

Time drags by but the only thing I can really concentrate on is breathing and getting through the contractions that are coming more frequently than they were earlier. Luckily, before I can panic about that, we're already at the hospital.

Going to the hospital while in labour is a lot different from going for a doctor's appointment. We're rushed in to a room immediately and not too many minutes after that, a nurse comes in. She does whatever she's supposed to be doing. I'm not paying attention, honestly; I'm too busy focusing on not dying from the pain.

"Well, Mrs. Walker, your water has broke. Your contractions aren't too close together at this moment and you're about four centimeters dilated." She goes over a few things. I try to focus but I'm also trying not to scream and I've never been much of the multitasking type. "I have to ask you now, were you aware of the bulging disks is your back?"

"No, I've just been dying of back pain for the past six months but I never noticed," I snap angrily. She doesn't react but I notice Paul's eyebrows shoot up and I instantly feel bad. "I... I'm sorry. I... didn't..."

She holds up her hands, fake smile plastered on her face. "I understand. I'll be back soon to check on you. If anything happens, press that button."

Paul thanks her as she leaves the room before turning back to me. He strokes my cheek gently, the pain in his eyes showing clearly. I know it kills him to see me like this – crying, wincing, sweating, in pain – but I also know this is far from the worst of it and I need him here. Today is not the day he's going to be cut any slack.

"Do you need anything?"

The words are out of my mouth before I even register how childish they sound, "My mom."

He smiles softly, leaning down to kiss my forehead. "She's already on her way with your dad. She should be hear soon. Anyone else you want?"

I shake my head. We can call the pack later. Another contraction hits and I have to resist the urge to scream. I don't, however, resist the urge to crush Paul's hand. It's not like I'm strong enough to hurt him anyway... Once it passes, I ask breathlessly, "Did you call your mom?"

He nods. "I told her I'd call her in the morning."

"Good," I whisper, resting my head back on the pillow.

The hours tick by. It's not easier with my mom here like I was hoping. It's nice to have my parents around but there's really nothing they can do. After about six hours of the torture, I'm moved to the delivery room.

If the last eight hours have been torture, I don't know how to describe the next part. Someone – I have no idea who – asks me who I want in the delivery room. I don't have to think it over. There's only one person I want in that room besides doctors and nurses. "Paul," I whisper.

Then it begins. I already had the shot of morphine in me and that makes the pain not as bad. But I know what's about to happen is still going to be painful. _You get a baby out of this_, I remind myself for the millionth time tonight.

"All right, Everlie," the doctor says, "get ready to push."

I do. I also scream. And cry. I clutch Paul's hand with all the power I can but that still doesn't help. After what seems like hours of pushing – but is probably just a handful of seconds – the doctor tells me to take a break until the next contraction.

I glare up at Paul, my chest heaving in an attempt to catch my breath. "We're _never _having another kid," I hiss.

The doctor tells me it's time to push again so Paul just chuckles – although he looks like he's about to cry every time he looks at me – and holds me encouragingly. It's the same process over and over again. Each time more profanities come out of my mouth and directly at Paul than the time before.

Even then, we haven't made much process. The doctor says it's because I'm so small and the baby is a healthy size. Even through the pain and torture, those words make me exhale a sigh of relief. Finally, he announces the baby is crowning and the pushing and screaming seem to go by more swiftly.

And after nine hours of labour, there's finally a cry in the room that's not mine. It silences me instantly and I smile up at Paul breathlessly before trying to get a glance at her. They start to take her away and I almost start crying. "W-w-where – ?"

Paul rubs my back gently, comforting me, "They have to wash her off silly. Calm down." He catches how worried I still am. "They said she's fine, babe. You did great."

I fling my arms around him hastily, holding him tightly against me. We did it. We had a baby. We _have _a baby. Not too long after I break away from Paul, the nurse brings her over wrapped up in a blanket. She's still crying but she's so beautiful and perfect.

The second she's in my arms, I start crying, cradling her gently to my chest. I rock her, make comforting noises and it doesn't take long for her to settle down. Paul's leaning over me and we're both staring at her in amazement.

I really can't get my head around that she's mine. Or that I made her. "She's perfect," I whisper in awe.

Paul chuckles, kissing my forehead and stroking her cheek gently. "Just like her Mommy."

I just smile; I don't even bother to roll my eyes. "Do you want to hold her?"

He nods eagerly and we slowly shift her over into his arms. She continues to be quiet, sleeping away. While he's holding her, her eyes pop open. They aren't open long, but long enough to see they're a mirror of Paul's chocolate brown eyes.

I grin happily, caressing her soft head. Paul doesn't hold her for long because I pout at him until he gives her back to me. "She's mine," I say teasingly.

He chuckles, gazing lovingly at me. "She's _ours_. You're almost as bad as Wyatt with this possession thing."

I giggle and peck his lips before turning my gaze back on the baby. One of the nurses comes over with a paper in her hand which I figure is for the birth certificate. "Have you guys chosen a name yet?" she asks bubbly.

I look up at Paul. We'd finally come to a name we both loved a few days ago. I really hope he hasn't changed his mind. He nods, the smile still on his face that's been there since she was born. I shouldn't really tease him because I've had the same one on my face.

"Yes," I tell her. I shuffle the baby into my left arm delicately before taking the pen and writing down the name we chose.

_Emilia Rayleigh Walker._


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Paul walks back into the room while I'm feeding Emilia. He smirks and he doesn't have to speak for me to know what he wants to say. Perv. He sits down on the bed, slinging his arm around my waist. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," I tell him honestly. Obviously I'm still really tired, exhausted even, but I can deal with that. Plus, my back pain is completely gone. It feels amazing. The doctor explained to me that the way she was situated in the womb affects the disks and that's why it hurt so bad. Also the huge stomach doesn't really help either.

"That still hurt?" he asks, gesturing to our breastfeeding baby.

I shrug. "I think I'm getting used to it. It kind of feels weird. And awkward, but I guess it could be worse." When the nurse had gone over the basics of it, I made Paul leave the room. He wasn't too happy about it; however, I know if he would've stayed he would have or would have been tempted to make perverted comments the entire time.

Paul nods, pecking my cheek. "That's good. Em and Sam and a couple of people are here."

"They can wait 'til I'm done feeding her," I tell him, chuckling.

He rolls his eyes, grinning. "Obviously."

I switch Emilia to the other breast. She cries out during the process, her attempt of protesting that she's still hungry. "Well she's definitely like you with the food thing."

He laughs, cuddling up to my side and stroking Emilia's back gently. He stops and brings his hand up to my breast, tapping it lightly. "Well, you actually have boobs now," he teases with a smirk.

"Screw off." I roll my eyes but can't help to grin at him. "As soon as they aren't filled with milk though, I'll be flat again. Just to warn you."

He chuckles. "I know. And there's nothing wrong with being flat."

"Liar," I tease. She's done by this point so I pass her to Paul while I fix my shirt, glad that I don't have to wear those stupid hospital gowns. He begins to burp her, and is extremely happy when she actually does. Last time he tried, he couldn't get her to.

I pat him on the back jokingly. "Good job." Then I turn to Emilia's face, smiling and cooing at her. "That was a good burp. Wasn't it, Millie?"

Paul grimaces, placing her back in the glass crib-type thing. "Millie?"

I giggle at his reaction. "I think it's cute. Why don't you like it?"

"I like Emilia better," he grumbles, pouting at me. "Besides, that's what we named her."

I kiss his lips tenderly. "I do love the name. But it's a mouthful and she is allowed a nickname. You don't have to call her that."

He shakes his head, chuckling. "Whatever," he says good-naturedly. "I guess I'll have to get used to it. Everyone will probably start calling her that now."

Sitting up, I wheel the crib back and forth in an attempt to make her fall asleep. It's a little pointless, she sleeps constantly anyway. Once I'm sure she has drifted off though, I jump up from the bed. Paul almost gets knocked over in the process.

"What?" he asks in surprise.

I grin at him and pull my shirt up to reveal my stomach. He rolls his eyes when he sees it. "Wow, Ev, you have like a centimeter of fat. Congratulations," he teases sarcastically.

I swat at him. I'm pretty happy about it, even though it still isn't much. Plus there's no stretch marks so that's always a good thing. "Your daddy's a jerk, _Millie_."

Paul smirks, placing me back on the bed. "And your mommy's immature," he mimics, pecking my lips gently, like I'm going to break or something. "Do you need anything before I go tell them they can come in?"

I nod. "Kiss me." I don't have to further explain what I mean before he swoops in for a long, passionate kiss. He hasn't kiss my like that for a while... since I wasn't really able to move much. My head spins slightly as he pulls away but I know I have a silly grin on my face. "Thank you."

He grins devilishly at me. "Get used to it again, babe." Then he heads out into the hall. I take the time that he needs to go get everyone to change Millie's diaper.

When they come in, Emily, Kim and Jill come straight over and hug me. I hug them back tightly, laughing. "Oh my God," Emily complains. "How are you so small already? You had her yesterday!"

I groan. "Don't remind me. It's a curse." The three of them roll their eyes. "Do you want to hold her?"

Jill is the only one with reservations. Mostly because she hasn't held kids before and I know she's afraid of hurting them or something along that line. Emily holds her first, sitting down beside me. Millie's eyes open slightly at her being moved but close them again shortly after.

"Sorry Paul," I hear Kim say, "the only thing she has that looks like you is your eyes."

He smirks. "That's a good thing."

Rolling my eyes, I say, "Oh please."

"So what did you name her?" Kim asks, taking her from Emily.

"Emilia."

They all make 'aw' noises, causing me to giggle. "What were the other names you guys picked? You said you had three left that you liked last time we talked."

I nod. "Alexandria and Tessa. So Em, decide Wyatt isn't able to handle another baby?"

Emily chuckles. "At least not without another scene," she admits. "I figured you could just bring her over sometime or I could go to your house and we could get it over with."

Giggling, I nod. "It should be interesting, that's for sure. Where are they now?"

"My parents'. Figured it would be a good chance for them to visit them."

I nod and notice Kim trying to pass Millie over to Jill. Who is being more reluctant than ever. "She doesn't bite, Jilly," I snicker.

She glares mockingly at me. "Hey! I'm just trying to not kill your baby. You should be happy."

I roll my eyes but take her from Kim since Jill is dead set against it. "Okay, fine. But you're going to hold her or Bridge at some point."

Paul takes Millie for a while but besides Jared and Sam all the guys are timid to hold her. They were the same with Bridgette and even Wyatt. They must have the same viewpoint as Jill. I can't exactly blame them, though. She started to cry when Sam held her and if he hadn't known what to do, she probably would've started shrieking.

I hold her when Sam's done, trying to get her to fall back asleep. "I know, Millie, they're really scary," I tease lightly, rocking her.

Paul grimaces at the nickname and everyone notices and starts laughing.

Kim punches his shoulder gently so she doesn't break her hand. "Oh, come on, Paul. That's a cute nickname."

His face twists but he laughs. "No way."

Jake snorts. "Wow, Paul. You're worse than Bella when she heard the Nessie thing."

I can tell Paul's about to snarl at him but thankfully he stops himself. The last thing I want is him freaking out around Emilia. He calms himself and manages just to glare at him. He mumbles something too quiet for me to hear but I figure it's along the lines of 'fuck you'. He really doesn't like that Bella chick.

I reach out and squeeze his hand, smiling. "They like it."

He smirks. "Because I don't."

Rolling my eyes, I tease, "Now who's immature?"

He kisses my lips softly. "Still you."

Eventually, Embry gets the guts to hold her. She screeches and I've never heard her that loud before. He panics and hands her back to me immediately. I chuckle, rocking her and hushing her. She's actually really easy to calm down if you can get past how loud she is.

"Sorry," Embry mumbles. Paul pats him on the back, obviously pleased that she doesn't do that when he holds her.

I laugh. "It's fine; it's not your fault. It probably just scared her that your so big."

He looks skeptical. "Paul's bigger than me."

I shrug. "He's her dad though." My attempt to make him feel better doesn't work too well, but eventually he shrugs it off.

Later on, when they're all gone, the doctor tells me that both Millie and my medical tests came back with positive results and that we're allowed to leave. Paul starts packing up all the stuff while I get her ready to go outside. It's the beginning of April but we still have snow outside and it's pretty cold.

Once I get her in the one-piece snowsuit, hat and mittens, I buckle her up in the car seat. We sign the discharge papers and while we're waiting for the nurse – since I guess you have to be escorted to your car to make sure you have the baby properly in the car seat or something – Dr. Cullen comes by. Paul isn't too happy about it but I smile and say hi.

He smiles at us kindly. "Hello. Your mother told me you were expecting. Congratulations." He glances down at Millie which Paul glares at. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "She's beautiful."

I smile. "Thanks."

We talk for a bit but not long. Paul gets fidgety and seems to keep the car seat as far away from Dr. Cullen as possible. The nurse eventually comes and we go to the car. She watches me like a hawk while I secure the car seat. I manage to do it correctly, though, even with her watching me making me nervous.

Paul holds my hand on the drive home. "You must be dying for real food at this point."

I laugh. After two days of hospital food, anything seems good at this point. I feed Millie when we arrive home, check her diaper, then put her in the bassinet beside our bed and go to sleep myself for a bit. As I'm drifting off, I can smell Paul cooking something in the kitchen. Eggs and bacon by the smell of it.

I only get a short nap in before he comes in. "Do you want food or do you want to sleep first?" he asks softly.

"Food," I say simply, getting out of bed. I am still really sore but it's not a struggle to get up from bed which is awesome. I click the baby monitor on as we head to the kitchen. The house is small enough that I can hear her anyway but I just want to be sure.

I stuff the food down my mouth greedily making Paul laugh. We chat about stuff – mostly Millie. "Does the nickname really bother you?" I wonder in concern. "If it does that much, I don't have to call her that."

He shakes his head quickly. "No, Evie. It's cute, I guess."

I chuckle and lean across the table for a quick kiss.

"You should probably use that pump to put some milk in bottles," he states as we're putting the dishes in the sink.

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

Shrugging, he says simply, "Well, if there's some in the bottle then I can get up and feed her sometimes so you don't have to do it each time."

I smile at his thoughtfulness. "That's nice, babe, but really I don't mind. Plus, she probably won't want to drink from a bottle for a while so I'll end up having to get up anyway."

"Okay. If ya change your mind, just tell me."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Eat. Sleep. Poop. Cry.

Four words that Millie along with every newborn in the world live by. Although she doesn't sleep all that much at night, she seems to stay on a schedule of when she wakes up and starts crying. It makes things a lot easier when you have a good idea of when it will happen.

After three weeks, I've finally become accustomed to the schedule and lack of sleep hasn't caught up with me yet. Paul on the other hand... he's completely tuckered out. He still insists on doing stuff though. Sometimes I worry that he's just going to drop.

I walk into the living room the see Paul kneeling in front of her bouncer, making faces and silly noises. I giggle. "She's not going to Paul. She's too young, really."

He rolls his eyes, laughing. "She's not too young. Are ya Millie? Besides, what's the harm in trying?"

Shaking my head, I walk over and lean against him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Nothing. I just don't want you to be upset when she doesn't."

He laughs, beaming up at me. "Do I look upset."

I giggle again, planting a kiss on his mouth. "Nope. And for once Millie doesn't either," I joke, stroking her little forehead.

"Oh whatever," Paul protests. "She's always happy."

"Was it the constant crying or the obsession with having everyone's attention?" I tease, unbuckling the belts securing her to the chair and picking her up.

She's wide awake, eyes bugging out of her head as she glances at everything. She's seen it all a million times but always seems to be amazed whenever she sees it again. "Come on, it's nap time." I doubt she'll sleep but I want to keep her on her schedule for as long as I can.

Paul pouts while Millie just rests her cheek against my chest. She doesn't attempt to latch onto my shirt so I take that as a sign that she isn't hungry. I place her in the crib in the nursery where she's been having her naps the last couple of days. She still sleeps in the bassinet in our room at night, though.

She whimpers when I put her in the crib which immediately makes Paul look at hopefully. And I'm the one who everyone said would give in when she cried? I smirk. "She'll be fine, babe. Go get something to eat."

He sighs and leaves the room.

Millie continues to whimper but no tears come out of her eyes and she's not screaming so it's definitely an improvement. Turning on the toy attached to the side of her crib that has fake fish swimming in it, I rub her back gently and make comforting noises.

Eventually the whimpers subside and she falls asleep. I find Paul in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. "Wow, you can't be hungry."

"You know I'm always hungry."

"And horny."

He smirks, probably memories of last night flooding through his brain. "You know, this whole no sex thing isn't that bad. My friend is getting a lot of attention." He winks at me.

Rolling my eyes, I ask with a smile on my face, "What do you want to eat?"

Paul snakes his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. Then, he growls in my ear, "The only I want to eat can't be eaten for another three weeks."

I roll my eyes again but pull his mouth down to mine, kissing his roughly. When he finally gets into it and the kisses become heated, I pull away smirking. "Well that's too bad for you, then."

He groans. "You drive me insane sometimes, Evie."

I shrug. "It's what I'm good at." I pull open the cupboard behind me. "Do you want Hamburger Helper for supper? We have Lasagne and Beef Noodle."

Paul nods, leaning against the cupboard. "Lasagne is good. If you don't mind."

I'm fine with it so I begin to cook. Millie starts to cry about half way through the process. "I'll get her," Paul offers, leaving the room.

He comes back a couple minutes later with her; she's crying. Namely, she's hungry. If it was her diaper, she would have stopped when he changed it. If she wanted attention, she'd be please. I sigh, setting down the spatula. Paul smirks. "Sorry, but I can't do this part for you."

I chuckle, taking her from him carefully. "Not yet. In a couple weeks, she's going to be drinking out of bottles and then you'll have to feed her." Taking a seat at the table, I situate her properly and she begins to drink. It's a little painful but I'm getting used to it.

Paul walks over from the stove where he was checking our supper and ruffles her hair gently. "You lucky duck. You get more action than I do."

I glare at him but find it hard to hold back a laugh. "Don't be gross. And after last night, you should not be complaining. My throat is killing me."

He snorts, pecking my lips before going back to the stove. "I'm sorry. I totally appreciate it."

I shake my head, laughing. "Whatever. Do you work tonight?"

"Nope," he responds. "I'm off tonight and then I have patrol tomorrow. And on Monday I work during the day and patrol at night."

"So I'm gonna be here all alone?" I pout.

"You've got Millie for company. I've got Brady, Seth and Collin. Consider yourself lucky."

Giggling, I nod. I burp Millie and then Paul slides me over her car seat. I buckle her into it. It's kind of weird but she really loves being in it. Even when we aren't driving. "That's a good point. So... I was talking to Emily and we were thinking we should take Mill over to their house tomorrow."

Paul raises an eyebrow, slightly surprised. I can't blame him, really. We've been avoiding this moment for a while. At first it was because Millie didn't have her needles, but she got them two weeks ago. So we can't use that excuse.

Then, a few days ago I went to visit Emily for a bit while Paul watched Emilia. The first thing Wyatt asked was why I didn't have a belly. Before we said anything, he caught on and asked where the baby was. I told him I already had her and then he asked why she wasn't with me.

He's pretty smart, and ever since that day, he's been bugging Emily. She said he's still acting really jealous so, again, we weren't sure. However, it's been a month and we can't just keep avoiding Wyatt meeting her forever.

His tantrum won't be _that _bad. All right, that's a lie.

"Are you okay with that?"

He chuckles. "Well, I guess it'll have to be done with eventually. And it's not like we're the ones that are going to have to deal with Wyatt being a little jerk forever. So it's up to them."

I nod. "Yeah, I guess. But it does have to be done eventually, especially since her and Bridge are about the same age so it'd be nice if they could hang out. And that can't happen if she never meets her because Wyatt doesn't like babies."

Paul holds up his hands jokingly. "Someone's babbling."

I blush, sticking my tongue out at him. "Sorry. I'm just nervous."

He rubs my shoulder gently. "I know. But it will be fine. He may like her."

We share a look and both burst out laughing. "When pigs fly, in space, wearing swimsuits."

Nodding, he pulls me out of my chair and spins me around. "Pretty much."

I shriek with laughter. "Put me down!"

He doesn't and continues spinning me. "Nope!" Paul smirks. "And don't scream, you'll wake up the baby."

I roll my eyes. "Then put me down!" I giggle.

He pretends to drop me, causing me to stifle a scream. Swiftly, he catches me before I hit the ground. "You're a jerk."

"I'm your jerk," he teases.

Looping my arms around his neck, I pull him down to me for a kiss. "You're also corny."

He wriggles his eyebrows at me. "Do you know what rhymes with corny?"

I shove him away playfully. "You will never grow up."

He smirks, attacking my neck with his lips. "Don't pretend you don't _love _it." He slides his hands down my sides, then gropes my butt.

"Paul!" I exclaim. "She's right there!"

Chuckling lowly, he does it again and grinds his hips into mine. "She's asleep, babe. Plus, she's a month old, she doesn't know what's going on."

"It still feels weird..." I admit shyly.

His smirk softens into a sympathetic smile. "Okay, how about I put her in her room and then we go have some fun?"

"All right, Mr. Horny. But make sure she has everything she needs."

I'm perched on the edge of our bed when Paul finally walks in. He grins devilishly at me, clearing the space between us in a couple strides and pushing me back gently onto the bed. He starts the kissing, moving his lips against mine roughly.

My hands find their way up his body and lock into his hair. He squeezes my bottom lip between his teeth as I open my mouth for him. He shoves his tongue around before finally moving his hands from above my head. He roams my body, making me squirm.

He makes a point of sniffing the air. "You want me that bad?"

I pout, stifling a moan as he runs his hands up the inside of my thigh. "This isn't fair. You can't do anything. Stop being a tease."

Paul smirks and tugs at the hem of my shirt before pulling it over my head. He unclasps my bra, not making a joke about how it's a maternity bra like usual. "I can do plenty with these," he teases, palming his hands into them.

I shake my head but don't stop a moan from escaping my lips. "You can't," I breath.

He continues to play with them in his hands. "Why not? I know you like it."

I take his hands in mine and move them away from them. "They're not yours now. Plus they hurts from Millie sucking on them all day." I don't add that it would be really embarrassing when milk squirts from them.

Paul frowns. "Well then what can I do for you?"

I shrug, tracing my finger down his jaw line. "Nothing for a couple weeks, I guess."

He kisses me lightly. "Well that's not fair."

I smirk, slipping my hands in the waist band of his boxers. "You probably shouldn't be complaining," I tease with a squeeze. "Unless you don't want me to continue."

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, Paul hastily throws off his boxers and pants. But before I can get much further, Millie let's out an ear piercing shriek from the other room. I sigh. "Well, I guess our little Emilia doesn't."

Paul laughs, looking a bit disappointed as he reaches for his pants.

I quickly shake my head, knocking the pants out of his hand. "She's probably just hungry; you stay here. I'll be back soon."


	23. Chapter 23

**Ok, so i'm sorry that i havent updated in a bit, school and hockey have been really crazy and i thot this chap was already up and i just had the epilogue left soo... yeah, sorry.**

**Anyway, this is the last chapter :( i'm planning on writing a sequel but it might be a couple weeks before i start posting it cuz i dont want to post it and then not have time to update it. Enjoy :) **

**(PS- It will be mainly about Millie's life as a teen and then Wyatt's and a little Bridge's :)**

Chapter 23

"Are you ready to meet Wyatt today, Millie?" I ask in a baby voice as I change her diaper. Despite my best effort, she still doesn't smile. She just squirms as I try to fasten the diaper. "I'll take that as a no then?"

Shrugging, I put on a little, long sleeved dress and thick baby tights. It's pretty warm out today but I just want to make sure she's not cold.

"You almost ready?" Paul mumbles as he comes to the doorway, brushing his teeth.

I snort, picking Millie up and placing her in the car seat. Even if we are just walking over, we still can't just carry her. I put a baby blanker over her and place her pacifier in her mouth. My guess is Wyatt is going to make her cry so I want to be prepared. "Yup, I think so. You?"

He holds up his finger and disappears to the bathroom. He comes back a couple seconds later. "Yup. I'll take her, you should get a coat."

I roll my eyes but do as he says. Picking up the diaper bag off the floor, I follow him out the door. "Think he's going to be a total brat?" I ask, only half-joking.

Paul smirks, leaning down to peck my lips. "Probably, but we'll just have to wait and see I guess."

I nod; what else can we do? When we arrive at Emily's, Kim and Jared are the only one's there besides Sam and the kids. I'm a little surprised – her house is rarely ever this empty. I'm also relieved, even though they'll all find out about whatever happens, maybe Wyatt won't be such a brat if there isn't as much of an audience.

"Hey guys," I greet, joining Emily at the counter so I can steal a muffin. She swats my hand away.

"You're getting as bad as the boys, Everlie," she scolds, smiling.

I grin at her. "It's not my fault you make amazing muffins." Quickly, I snatch one from the basket and join everyone at the table. Sam has Bridgette on his lap and is feeding her, but I'm surprised not to see Wyatt. He's always buzzing around when they have company. I raise my eyebrow at Emily.

She laughs lightly. "He's having a nap. I figured it would be best to have him in a good mood."

"She even gave him cookies last night," Sam teases.

Paul and Jared mock glare at Emily. "And we didn't get any?" Paul complains, lifting Millie out of her car seat and into his arms. I fed her before we left so she should be good until we go home. We're not going to be here that long.

Millie is asleep, though, so I doubt she'll be much trouble. Bridgette is eying Millie from her place in Sam's arms like she's a science experiment and it makes me laugh. She smiles at the baby, waving her arms around excitedly.

Wyatt isn't exactly good company for her so I'm not surprised that she wants to be around other people her own age. After Bridgette is fed, we go to the living room and put them both on a blanket on the floor. Millie obviously can't do anything besides lay down and look at things but Bridge is four months so she can roll and drag herself around.

Eventually she is beside Millie and they stare at each other for a minute. Then, Millie shrieks and starts crying. Bridgette isn't really phased, she just rolls away. After all, that's the reaction she gets from her brother on a daily basis. Poor girl.

I go over and pick Millie up and rock her until she calms down. Instantly, as if that never happens, she drifts off to sleep. Emily puts Bridgette in her swing so I put Millie in the car seat and on put that on the blanket. "Our kids are really weird," I tell her, trying not to smirk.

She nods, smiling. "At least it's not just mine anymore."

I stick my tongue out at her, but she's right. I'm sure over time Millie will get it... Just like Wyatt... "I think Bridge is the only normal one, though," I admit, teasingly.

Paul pushes me jokingly. "Don't call my daughter weird."

I giggle, pecking his cheek. "It's not my fault she takes after you."

He scoffs, grinning. "Oh, yeah, because I'm the weird one."

"Glad you understand."

After a while, Wyatt wakes up from his nap and toddles into the living room. He smiles at me when he see me and then glares at the car seat. However, he notices Bridgette in the swing and does a double take of the room. I can tell he's really confused.

"Is it yours?" he asks curiously, pointing at Millie.

I nod, holding my breath as he stands beside the car seat, looking at the sleeping Millie. He doesn't scream. He doesn't glare. He just stares. "What'th her name?" he asks eventually.

Emily and I share a look and then I answer, "Emilia."

He purses his lips – looking adorable – before shaking his head. He sits down cross-legged beside Millie and I feel Paul tense beside me. One good thing about Wyatt, though, is no matter how much he screams and cries, he isn't violent. "No," he says simply.

I stifle a laugh and look around to see everyone do the same. "What?" I question, not sure what he means. Did he just tell me her name wasn't Emilia? I mean, I'm pretty sure I signed her birth certificate. Silly little kids.

"Emi," he states decidedly with a little nod that he always does when he's sure of something.

Millie opens her eyes and Paul, Sam, Emily and I are all on the edge of out seats, waiting for this to all blow up. But Wyatt doesn't look mad or upset, he's staring at her in fascination. If I wasn't so paranoid, I might find it adorable – like Kim and Jared are.

I expect her to burst out crying; however, she doesn't. She stares back at him. Wyatt reaches out to her and I notice Paul jump up. I put my arm out, making him fall back on the couch. Wyatt looks like he's about to poke her or something but she wraps her little hand around one of his little fingers.

I notice Emily gulp. Bridgette had done that once and he had flipped out. Instead of doing that though, he giggles and smiles down at her. "Hi," he says shyly.

I instantly feel bad since he won't get an answer. She's too young. He will probably be upset when he doesn't get one. But he does...

It's small, but she smiles up at him. And it's a real smile. I gape, practically bouncing in my seat. Paul clamps a hand over my mouth so I don't say anything and ruin it. I'm glad he does because what happens next pretty much makes Emily and I squeal with giddiness.

Millie's pacifier falls out of her mouth as she's smiling and – without her letting go of his other hand – Wyatt picks it up and puts it back in her mouth. He continues letting her hold his hand until she falls back asleep. Then he removes his hand and leans down. He kisses her forehead – probably something he sees Sam do to Emily all the time.

We don't stifle it this time, Emily, Kim and I squeal at all the cuteness occurring in front of us. This makes Wyatt look away from Millie and up at us. "What?" he asks in his cute toddler way.

I'm completely dumbfounded. There's no other way to explain it. I expected him to cry or yell or both... Or at least something bad. It never even occurred to me that he would like her. And after how she reacted to Bridgette, I didn't expect her to like him either.

Then it really hits me and I hug Paul impulsively. "Oh my god! She smiled!"

Laughing, he hugs me back. When we pull away, Paul glares playfully at the toddler. "What do you think you're doing flirting with my daughter, little man?"

I push him, chuckling, but Wyatt just grins innocently at him, giggling. "What does that mean?"

"It doesn't matter," I say smiling and holding my arms out for him.

He glances at Millie before barreling into my arms. Is it possible to die from extreme exposure to adorableness? If it is, I think I might. I hug him tightly. "You're so cute," I tell him, ruffling his hair.

Sam rolls his eyes but I can tell he's enjoying Wyatt's behaviour as much as Emily and I are. "Oh yeah, just inflate his ego even more," he jokes.

Emily swats at him before picking Bridgette up from the swing. A scowl forms on Wyatt's face and I guess him liking all babies is too much to ask for. Emily sighs.

"Get that look off your face," I tell Wyatt, smiling.

He pouts at me before turning around and going back to Millie. "Your momma's mean, Emi," he tells her, sticking his tongue out at me while smiling.

I shake my head, laughing. Emily sits down on the empty side of me and chuckles. "Well that went a lot better than I expected."

I nod, beaming. "Oh my gosh, he's so cute! Look at them!"

"They'd make a cute couple," Kim adds, shooing Paul out of his seat so she can join us.

Jared and Sam burst out laughing. Wondering why, I look up to see Paul glaring daggers at Kim. I smirk. Someone's over-protective already. "Don't ever say that again," he says, sounding terrified.

I giggle, covering my face with my hand when I can't stop them. Paul drops down on the couch beside Jared, no longer in a good mood. It's just so funny. "Who's the baby here Paul?" I tease, grinning.

He makes a face at me before glaring into space. I know part of him wants to glare at Wyatt but he's not so mean that he'd glare at a toddler.

"All right, children," Emily announces, handing Bridgette to Sam. "What do you want for supper?"

Glancing at the clock, I realize how late it's gotten. Time sure passed rapidly. I'd have to take Millie home soon for food and then bed. "We should probably be going, actually," I admit, standing up with a groan.

Emily pouts. "So soon?"

I laugh at her expression. "Yeah, sorry, but she needs to eat and stuff."

She nods, giving me a hug. "Well I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," I agree. "I'm not doing anything tomorrow so I might come over while he's at work."

We get ready to go, putting Millie's coat on her and stuff as everyone files into the kitchen. Whatever Emily's cooking really does smell good and it makes me reconsider my decision to leave. We do have to though so I quickly throw that idea out of my head.

"Call me tomorrow when you want to come over," Emily says.

"Okay." I pick up the car seat and say good bye one more time before heading for the door. I only get a few steps before I feel something clinging to my leg. "Wyatt, what are you...?"

He looks up at me, eyes wide. "Where are you going?"

"Um, home?" I respond, unsure what he's expecting.

He pouts. "Are you gonna bwing her back?" he asks like his life depends on it. Someone's got an unhealthy obsession. Too bad it's too cute to find strange.

I smile widely at him. "Of course, sweetheart."

He nods, and a little smile breaks onto his face. "Good."

**THE END**

**Haha, sorry, I'm kind of evil :P there will be an epilogue though :)**


	24. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Momma! Momma! Look what we made!" Millie shrieks, running over to me with a mud-filled Frisbee and Wyatt and Bridgette tagging along behind her. "It tha mud pie!" she announces proudly.

I look warily at the mud and filth that has managed to cover all three of their clothes, but can't help but chuckle. "That's awesome baby." The three of them start retreating off our back porch and back to the little playground in the back yard.

Millie and Bridgette are both three now and Wyatt is almost six. He's come around to the idea of having a sister these last couple years but he still prefers Millie over her. It's strange, but still extremely cute so we don't complain.

I glance to my side when I hear a groan. There's Kim with her swelling belly, sitting on a lawn chair. "I hate being pregnant," she grumbles, causing me and Emily to laugh.

"Try having twins," I tease, motioning to the baby monitor in my lap. Kim had had to fulfill her part of the deal a lot sooner than she's planned when I announced that Paul and I were having twins. She wasn't too happy about it at first, but now, at six month pregnant, I know she's overly excited.

We had twin boys nine months ago: Eric and Everett. Luckily, I hadn't had to go through what Emily and Sam went through with Wy and Bridge because Millie adored her little brothers. Mostly because she sees them as dolls... but still.

When I became pregnant, Paul and I knew we had to move. We didn't move far, just across the street – a house that happened to be beside Emily's. It has four bedrooms which we thought was a little big at first. Then I found out I was having twins. I guess we kind of got lucky.

"Oh, and feel like your back is about to fall off. _And _still having to carry around a one year old all day."

Kim rolls her eyes. "Okay, okay. I get it. Your guys' pregnancies were way worse than mine. It still sucks. I just want it to be done with and have her already."

I pat her pack gently. "I know. But you're only six months. You've got a long wait."

The school year after I had Millie, I went back to work. And then I worked the next two years too. At the time that I became pregnant, the school year was done before I had to take maternity leave. Before the twins were born, Millie went to Emily's while Paul and I were working – which is probably why the three of them are so close. However, after they were, I originally felt bad about leaving her with three extra kids. We paid her and all, but five kids is still a lot.

She assures us that she doesn't mind, though, so they're there now. Plus, Wyatt is in school so it's only four for most of the day. I still feel bad, though.

I hear a baby cry from the monitor and instantly stand up. Only Everett's crying – like usual – but if I don't take him out quick enough, they'll both be crying. I rush upstairs into the nursery, hearing Emily and Kim laugh from behind me.

Jerks.

Eric is still sound asleep when I pick Everett out of his crib. When they were really little, they shared a bed because otherwise they wouldn't sleep and it was so hard to get one out without the other waking up. Now, that they're on opposite sides of the room, it's a little easier.

I calm him down first, check his diaper, and then head downstairs with the baby monitor. Joining the others again, I place him on my lap and start feeding him baby food.

The kids come back over when they see Everett. Bridgette and Millie come because they love playing with them. Wyatt comes partially so he isn't left alone and partially because he thinks he might get food, too.

He doesn't like the babies which at first I hadn't understood completely. Obviously, no one expects him to like them because Millie is the only baby he has met that he likes but at first he had liked them. Then one day, he came over when Millie was playing with them – giggling and laughing – and he's despised them ever since.

Emily, Kim and I always laugh at it. He still gets really jealous when she's involved and it's adorable. I've always wondered when he'll grow out of it though.

After I feed Ev, I put him on the blanket spread across the porch with the twins' toys on it. Immediately, Millie and Bridge get down and play with him. Wyatt glares at him before taking a seat on Emily's lap.

"Are you hungry, Wy?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "A little."

Kim reaches over to the basket beside her and then hands him a muffin. "Here ya go."

"Thank you," he replies politely before nibbling on it. "When's daddy off patrol?"

Emily glances at her watch. "Just another hour. Then we'll all have supper." Namely, a bunch of salads that we made earlier today.

Wyatt looks relieved and I can't hold back my snort. He's just like the pack, always thinking of food. I can tell he's getting bored watching the girls play with Everett. "Do you want to go watch TV, Wy?"

He nods. "Can I?" 

I laugh. "You know where it is."

He smiles and starts to head in the house when Millie asks in a hurt voice, "Where are you goin?"

Wyatt looks back, contemplating whether or not to make her feel bad about playing with Everett or not. He's really easy to read... "Going to watch TV?"

"Can I come?" Millie asks, smiling up at him with a puppy dog expression on her face. Kim snorts from beside me.

Wyatt holds out his hand to her. "Sure, Emi."

Even though no one else has ever called her that, Wyatt still insists on calling her Emi. Millie doesn't mind though, unless someone else calls her by that. Then she ignores them until they call her Millie. It's really cute, also a little bratty.

They skitter away towards the living room, still holding hands.

Instantly, I look at Bridgette, feeling bad that they didn't invite her. She doesn't even seem to notice or care. She just plays with Everett. She's really good that way, content with whatever she had.

"Well, just think," Kim says, interrupting my thoughts, "In twelve years from now when they sneak off into an empty house you'll be yelling at them."

I gape at her. "If you weren't pregnant, I would hit you!"

Emily has a look on her face that must mirror how I'm feeling.

"What?" Kim demands instantly.

"They're just kids!" I exclaim. "Don't talk about them like that!"

She waves her hand, brushing that fact away. "Oh please. Just look at them. If they don't end up together, there is something seriously wrong!"

I have to admit, I have had the idea in my mind before but I always felt wrong to think it out loud. They are, after all, just little. People change as they grow up. It doesn't matter if they're obsessed with each other now, there's a good fifteen years for that to change.

Even if that would be pretty awesome...

"Whatever, Kim. When you have your girl, you'll see our point of view."

She snorts. "Nope. That's not going to happen."

Eric cries from upstairs and I look at Emily. "Can you bring Ev in for me? We have to start getting supper ready soon."

She nods and picks up both him and Bridge before following me inside. I go upstairs to get Eric. Unlike his brother, his diaper is actually dirty so I change it and bring him downstairs. Everett is in their playpen so I put Eric down with him. He doesn't eat as much as Everett so he'll probably be satisfied until supper when I can give him more.

Bridgette joins her brother and Millie in the living room to watch television while Kim, Emily and I set the table with supper. We're about halfway done when I hear the kids yelling at each other from the living room. "I got it," I tell them before disappearing from the room. "What's going on in here?"

"He won let uth watch it!"

"We were in here first!"

"They won stop yelling!"

All three complaints fly at me at the same time. Of course, I know what's going on. Wyatt wants to watch Nick and Bridgette wants to watch TreeHouse. They turn to Millie to pick and she doesn't want to be caught in between. It always happens.

"Stop yelling, all of you. Now Wyatt, you and Mill have been in here for a while, let Bridge watch what she wants. It will be time for supper soon anyway." Wyatt pouts at me, disappointed that I didn't take his side.

I have a circle though. When an argument occurs and none of them have actually done anything wrong, I take Bridgette's side, then the next time I take Millie's and the next time I take Wyatt's and so on. It just happened to be Bridge's turn.

After we're done setting everything up, Emily takes the kids to the bathroom to wash up while I take Everett and Eric and put them in their high chairs. They each get some cheerios and a little piece of banana.

Paul, Jared and Sam arrive not too long after that. Wyatt and Bridgette swarm to their dad while Millie clings to Paul. Everett and Eric are too occupied with their food to even see who has come in the door. They're just like their daddy...

"Hey Mill!" I hear Paul enthuse, picking her up. "What did you do today?"

She goes off on a huge speech about what she did as he brings her to the table. He's smirking and I wonder if he remembers when Paige used to do that – okay, she still does sometimes. The difference is he enjoys Millie's chatter and doesn't really enjoy Paige's.

When she tells him about the mud pies, he eyes her ruined clothes. Good thing they weren't nice clothes... "I can see."

She beams up at him as he sets her in her at the little table where Bridge, her and Wyatt always sit when they're all here. "I'm not that messy, daddy."

Paul laughs, kissing her forehead. "Well, I'm surprised your mommy even let you in the house. I sure wouldn't have."

Millie sticks her tongue out at him – something she learned from Wyatt a long time ago. "Well, Momma's nither than you."

Ruffling her hair, he says, "I'll remember that Mill." He sits down in the chair beside me and presses his lips to mine. I kiss him back until I feel something hit my head.

"No PDA at the dinner table!" Kim scolds, laughing.

I roll my eyes but look over to make sure the kids weren't watching. They were. Bridgette and Millie have there hands over their eyes but Wyatt just giggles and goes back to eating.

Paul points at him and says, "Don't you go getting any ideas, little guy."

This makes Bridgette and Millie burst out giggling. Wyatt makes kissy faces at Millie, probably just to piss Paul off.

"Your son will be the death of me," Paul tells Sam, who just laughs.

I sigh happily, leaning back against my chair in contentment. Paul may not like the idea, but I'm pretty sure he's the only one in the room right now that doesn't. And if Millie's blush is any indicator, I have a feeling these next fifteen years are going to be long ones.


	25. Sequel

**I posted the first chapter of the sequel, it's called Her Daughter's Sequel so please check it out :D **


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